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CORTES APPROACHING MEXICO 


i 



HISTORY OF THE INDIANS 


OP 

NORTH AND SOUTH AMERICA. 



BOSTON: 

«. C. RAND — WM. J. REYNOLDS & CO. 



1 



S. 



PRESS OF GEORGE C. RAND &, CO, 



/uectV-, 


.9 

<*• 

■r 


CONTENTS. 


Introduction 

Origin of the American Indians 
Classification of the Indians 
The Aborigines of the West Indies 

The Caribs 

Early Mexican History 

Mexico, from the Arrival of Cortes 

The Empire of the Incas . 

The Araucanians .... 
Southern Indians of South America 
Indians of Brazil .... 
The Indians of Florida . • . 

The Indians of Virginia . 

The Southern Indians .... 
Indians of New England 
The Five Nations, &c. 

The Six Nations .... 


PAGB 

5 

10 

16 

22 

34 

41 

54 

80 

98 

112 

121 

129 

147 

160 

170 

192 

205 


IV 


CONTENTS 


Western Indians east of the Mississippi . . 219 

Western and Southern Indians .... 233 

Various Tribes of Northern and Western Indians 241 
The Indians west of the Mississippi . . 256 

Present Condition of the Western Indians in the 

United States 287 

The Prospects of the Western Tribes . . 297 



HISTORY 


OF THE 

AMERICAN INDIANS. 


INTKODUCTION. 

When America was first discovered, it was found to 
be inhabited by a race of men different from any already 
known. They were called Indians, from the West 
indies, where they were first seen, and which Colum- 
bus, according to the common opinion of that age, sup- 
posed to be a part of the East Indies. On exploring 
the coasts and the interior of the vast continent, the 
same singular people, in different varieties, were every- 
where discovered. Their general conformation and 
features, character, habits, and customs were too evi- 
dently alike not to render it proper to class them under 
the same common name ; and yet there were sufficient 
diversities, in these respects, to allow of grouping them 
in minor divisions, as families or tribes. These fre- 
quently took their names from the parts of the country 
where they lived. 

The differences just mentioned were, indeed, no 
greater than might have been expected from the va- 
rieties of climate, modes of life, and degree of im- 

1 * 


6 


INTRODUCTION. 


provement which existed among them. Sometimes 
the Indians were found gathered in large numbers 
along the banks of rivers or lakes, or in the dense 
forest, their hunting-grounds ; and not unfrequently 
also, scattered in little collections over the extended 
face of the country. As they were ’often engaged in 
wars with each other, a powerful tribe would occasion- 
ally subject to its sway numerous other lesser ones, 
whom it held as its vassals. 

No accurate account can be given of their numbers. 
Some have estimated the whole amount in North and 
South America, at the time of the discovery of the 
continent, even as high as one hundred or one hun- 
dred and fifty millions. This estimate is unquestionably 
much too large. A more probable one would be from 
fifteen or twenty to twenty-five millions. But they 
have greatly diminished, and of all the ancient race 
not more than nine or ten millions, if so many, now 
remain. Pestilence, wars, hardships, and sufferings 
of various kinds have been their lot for nearly four 
hundred years ; and they have melted away at the 
approach of the white man ; so that even a lone In- 
dian is now scarcely found beside the grave of his 
fathers, where once the war-whoop might have called 
a thousand or more valiant men to go forth to engage 
in the deadly fray. With them have perished, in 
many instances, their ancient traditions ; and as they 
had no other means of handing down the records of 
their deeds, their history is lost, except here and there 
a fragment, which has been treasured up by some 
white man more curious than his fellows, in studying 
their present or former fates. Monuments, indeed, 


INTRODUCTION, 


7 


exist, widely scattered over the coui;itries they once 
occupied ; some rude and inartificial, marked by no 
skill or taste ; and others evidently reared at not a 
little expense of time and labor, and characterized by 
all the indications of a people far in advance of their 
neighbours in the arts and in civilization. 

By whom were these reared, when, and for what 
cause ? How long have they been thus reposing in 
their undisturbed quiet, and crumbling in silent ruin ? 
are questions that force themselves on the mind of the 
reflective traveller, as he stands heside or amid their 
strange forms, and pores over what seem the sepul- 
chres of buried ages. But the tongue of history is 
mute, and they who could have answered his inquiries 
have long since passed away. 

To give, therefore, a historical account of the Ameri- 
can Indians is a task beset with not a few difficulties. 
The sources of information must be almost wholly de- 
rived from their conquerors and foes ; and though the 
incidents related may be in the main correct, and the 
causes that lie on the surface be easily known, yet the 
more hidden ones, the secret springs of action, are be- 
yond our reach. W e have not the Indian himself re- 
cording for us the motives that have prompted his stern 
spirit, carefully veilhig his designs from all around, 
nourishing the dark purpose, and maturing his plans. 
We are not admitted to the council of the warriors or 
wise men, and allowed to listen to their relation of the 
wrongs-, real or fancied, they have suffered, or to see 
how one after another of the chiefs or counsellors ut- 
ters his opinions, and the deep plot is laid which is to 
issue in wreaking a dire revenge, even to extermina- 
tion, on the hated intruders. 


8 


INTRODUCTION. 


All these various incentives to action, are near- 
ly or quite beyond our inspection. Yet it is in ihe 
contemplation of such only, that Indian history can be 
truly estimated ; for all these particulars throw their 
lights and shades across and into the portraiture of this 
most singular people. It could hardly be expected, 
that they, who suffered from the fearful revenge of the 
red man, who saw, as it were, the scalping-knife 
gleaming around the head of a beloved wife, or child, - 
or friend, or who felt the arrow quivering in their own 
flesh, or who heard the war-whoop ringing terrifically 
on the domestic quiet of their habitation, — it could 
hardly, indeed, be expected, that such persons should 
be as truthful or impartial as if they had been called 
to record scenes of a more peaceful and grateful kind. 
Without, therefore, doing the early writers the injustice 
of supposing that they mean to misrepresent facts, — 
yet, in glancing over their descriptions of perfidy, plots, 
murders, cruelties, and revenge, we must remember 
that the red man had no one of his race to record for 
him his history, and be candid and just in our judg- 
ments, where there may often be not a little to exten- 
uate, if not wholly to excuse from blame. 

Let us also bear in mind one remarkable fact, that, 
in their first intercourse, the reception extended to the 
Europeans by the Americans was confiding and hos- 
pitable, and that this confidence and hospitality were 
generally repaid with treachery, rapine, and murder. 
This was the history of events for the first century, till 
at last the red men, over the whole continent, learned 
to regard the Europeans as their enemies, the plun- 
derers of their wealth, the spoilers of their villages, the 


INTRODUCTION. 


9 


greedy usurpers of their liberty and lands. We 
are told of tribes of birds, in the interior of Africa, 
which at first permitted travellers to approach them, 
not having yet learned the lesson of fear ; but after 
the fowler had scattered death among them, they dis- 
covered that man was a being to be dreaded, and fled 
at his approach. The natives of America had a simi- 
lar lesson to learn ; and though they did not always 
fly from the approach of their European enemy, it 
was not because they expected mercy at his hands* 



:yN . 


ORIGIN OF THE INDIANS. 


The origin of the aborigines of America is involved 
in mystery. Many have been the speculations in- 
dulged and the volumes written by learned and able 
men to establish, each one, his favorite theory. Con- 
jecture, by a train of ingenious reasonings and 
comparisons, has grown into probability, and finally 
almost settled down into certainty. For a time, as in 
the case of the celebrated ‘‘ Letters of Junius,” the ques- 
tion has seemed decided ; so plausible have appeared 
the proofs, that it would have been deemed almost like 
incredulity to gainsay them. But another supposition, 
more likely, has been started, and has supplanted the 
former ; each, in its turn, has passed away, and we 
are perhaps no nearer the truth than before. We will 
notice a few of the most prominent of these opinions. 

1. The Indians have been supposed, by certain 
w'riters, to be of Jewish origin ; either descended from 
a portion of the ten tribes, or from the Jews of a later 
date. This view has been maintained by Boudinot 
and many others ; and Catlin, in his ‘‘ Letters,” has re- 
cently advocated it, especially with respect to the In- 
dians west of the Mississippi. In proof of this opinion. 


ORIGIN OF THE INDIANS.- 


11 


reference is made to similarities, more or less striking* 
in many of their customs, rites, and ceremonies, sacri- 
fices, and traditions, Tlius, he has found many of 
their modes of worship exceedingly like those of the 
Mosaic institutions. He mentions a variety of particu- 
lars respecting separation, purification, feasts, and fast- 
ings, which seem to him very decisive. “ These,” 
he says, ‘‘ carry in my mind conclusive proof, that these 
people are tinctured with Jewish blood.” Efforts have 
also been made, but with little success, to detect a re- 
semblance of words in their language to the Hebrew, 
and some very able writers have adopted the opinion, 
that this fact is established. That there may be such re- 
semblances as are supposed is very probable, yet they 
are perhaps accidental, or such only as are to be 
found among all languages. Besides, allowance must 
be made for the state of the observer’s mind, and his 
desire to find analogies, as also for his ignorance of 
the Indian language in its roots, and his liability to 
confound their traditions with his own fancies. Many 
of these similarities, moreover, belong rather to the 
general characteristics of the Patriarchal age, than to 
the peculiarities of the Jewish economy. Even ad- 
mitting the analogies in manners and customs men- 
tioned by Gatlin and others, they are not so striking 
as are those of the Greeks, as depicted by Homer, 
to those of the Jews, as portrayed in the Bible. 
There are striking resemblances between the ideas 
and practices of our American Indians, and those of 
many Eastern nations, which show them to be of 
Asiatic origin, but yet they do not identify them more 
with the Jews than with the ’Tartars, or Egyptians, or 
even the Persians. 


12 


ORIGIN OF THE INDIANS. 


2. Some have supposed that the ancient PhcBnicians, 
or the Carlhaginians^ in their navigation of the ocean, 
penetrated to this Western Continent, and found- 
•ed colonies. As this is mere conjecture, and is sus- 
tained by no proof in history, though here also fancied’ 
resemblances have been detected in language and 

O O 

some minor things, it may be dismissed as unworthy 
of serious consideration. 

3. Others again have imagined that the Eastern 
and Western Continents were once united by land oc- 
cupying the space which is now fdled by the Atlan- 
tic Ocean ; and that previous to the great disruption 
an emigration took place. With respect to this view, it 
is embarrassed by greater difficulties than the former. 
There is not the remotest trace of such an event re- 
corded in history. It is only, therefore, entitled to be 
considered as a possible mode by which the Western 
Continent might have been peopled. 

4. The pretensions of the Welsh have been put 
forth with not a little zeal, and have been considered 
by some as having more plausibility. They assert, 
that, about the year 1170, on the death of Owen Gwy- 
neth, a strife for the succession arose among his sons ; 
that one of them, disgusted with the quarrel, embarked 
in ten ships with a number of people, and sailed west- 
ward till he discovered an unknown land ; that, leaving 
part of his people as a colony, he returned to Wales, 
and after a time again sailed with new. recruits, and 
was never heard of afterwards. Southey has built on 
this tradition his beautiful poem of “ Madoc,” the name 
of the fancied chieftain who was at the head of the en- 
terprise. ■ The writer, by whom the story, was first 


ORIGIN OF THE INDIANS. 


13 


published, is said, however, to have lived at least 400 
years after the events, and discredit is thus thrown over 
the whole. Mr. Catlin, in the appendix to his second 
volume, forgetful, apparently, that he had already at- 
tributed certain rites and ceremonies of the same 
people to Jewish origin, seems to suppose that the 
Mandans are undoubted descendants of Madoc and his 
Welshmen, who, he thinks, entered the Gulf of Mex- 
ico, and sailed up the Mississippi even to the Ohio 
River, whence they afterwards emigrated to the 
rar West. He furnishes some words of the Mandan 
language, which he compares with the Welsh, and 
which must be allowed to have considerable resem- 
blance to each other, for the same ideas. Still, the 
theory must be regarded as wholly fanciful. 

5. A supposition more plausible than any other is, 
that America was peopled from the northeastern 
part of Asia. This seems to correspond with the 
general view of the Indians themselves, who represent 
their ancestors as having been formerly residents in 
Northwestern America. It corresponds also with 
history in another respect. By successive emigrations, 
Asia furnished Europe and Africa with their popula- 
tion, and why not America } If it could supply other 
quarters of the globe with millions, and these of va« 
rious physical and moral characteristics, why not also 
supply America with its first inhabitants ? The ideiir 
tity of the aborigines with the nations of Northeast- 
ern Asia cannot, indeed, be fully established ; but, while 
many causes may have contributed to destroy this re- 
semblance, enough is shown, with other facts, to make 
this theory preponderate over all others. 

XI.— 2 


14 


ORIGIN OF THE INDIANS. 


If this supposition be true, it is not to be imaginec 
that the emigration to this continent all took place at 
once. There were doubtless successive arrivals of 
persons from various parts of Asia ; and thus the In- 
dian traditions, which refer to the Northwest as the 
country of their ancestors, and to periods and intervals 
separating them, in which people of various character 
made their appearance, one after another, and left 
some traces of their residence, may be accounted for. 




CLASSIFICATION OF THE INDIANS. 


In respect to the general resemblance of the In- 
dians, an able writer of a recent date, treating of this 
question, says, — “ The testimony of all travellers goes 
to prove that the native Americans are possessed of 
certain physical characteristics which serve to identify 
them in places the most remote, while they assimilate 
not less in their moral character. There are also, in 
their multitudinous languages, some traces of a com- 
mon origin ; and it may be assumed as a fact, that no 
other race of men maintains so striking an analogy 
through all its subdivisions, and amidst all its varieties 
of physical circumstances, — while, at the same time, it 
is distinguished from all the other races by external 
peculiarities of form, but still more by the internal 
qualities of mind and intellect.” 

M. Bory de St. Vincent attempted to show that the 
American race includes four species besides the Esqui- 
maux ; but he appears to have ‘failed in establishing 
his theory. 

Dr. Morton has paid great attention to the subject. 
He conducted his investigations by comparisons of the 
skulls of a vast number of different tribes, the results 
of which he has given to the public in his “ Ctania 





North American Indians. 


CLASSIFICATION OF THE INDIANS. 


17 


Americana^ He considers the most natural division 
to be into the Toltecan and American ; the former bein^^r 
half-civilized, and including the Peruvians and Mexi- 
cans ; the latter embracing all the barbarous nations 
except the Esquimaux, whom he regards as of Mon- 
golian origin. 

He divides each of- these into subordinate groups, 
those of the American class l)eing called the Appala^ 
chian^ Brazilian^ Patagonian^ and Fuegian. 

The Appalachian includes all those of North Ameri- 
ca except the Mexicans, together with those of South 
America north of the Amazon and east of the Andes. 
They are described thus. “ The head is rounded, the 
nose large, salient, and aquiline, the eyes dark-brown, 
with little or no obliquity of position, ^he mouth large 
and straight, the teeth nearly vertical, and the whole 
face triangular. The neck is long, the chest broad, but 
rarely deep, the body and limbs muscular, seldom dis- 
posed to fatness.” In character, they “ are^warlike 
cruel, and unforgiving,” averse to the restraints of 
civilized life, and “ have made but little progress in 
mental culture or the mechanic arts.” 

Of the Brazilian it is said, that they are ‘ spread 
over a great part of South America east of the Andes, 
including the whole of Brazil and Paraguay between 
the River Amazon and 35 degrees of south latitude. In 
physical characteristics, they resemble the Appala- 
chian; their nose is larger and more expanded, their 
mouth and lips also large. Their eyes are small, more 
or less oblique, and farther apart, the neck short and 
thick, body and limbs stout and full, to clumsiness. In 
mental character, it is said, that none of the American 

2 2 ^ 


18 


CLASSIFICATION OF THE INDIANS. 


race are less susceptible of civilization, and what they 
are taught by compulsion seldom exceeds the hum- 
blest elements of knowledge. 

o 

The Patagonian branch comprises the nations 
south of the River La Plata to the Straits of Magellan, 
and also the mountain tribes of Chili. They are 
chiefly distinguished by their tall stature, handsome 
forms, and unconquerable courage. 

The Fuegians, who call themselves Yacannacunnee^ 
rove over the sterile wastes of Terra del Fuego. Their 
numbers are computed^ by Forster to be- only about 
2,000. Their physical aspect is most repulsive. They 
are of low stature, with large heads, broad faces, and 
small eyes, full^chests, clumsy bodies, large knees, 
and ill-shaped legs. Their hair is lank, black, and 
coarse, and their complexion a decided brown, like 
that of the more northern tribes. They have a va- 
cant expression of face, and are most stupid and slow in 
their mental operations, destitute of curiosity, and caring 
for little that does not minister to their present wants. 

Long, black hair, indeed, is common to all the Ameri- 
can tribes. Their real color is not copper, but brown, 
most resembling cinnamon. Dr. Morton and Dr. 
McCulloh agree, that no epithet is so proper as the 
brown race. 

The diversity of complexion cannot be accounted 
for mainly by climate ; for many near the equator are 
not darker than those in the mountainous parts of tem- 
perate regions. The Puelches, and other Magellanic 
tribes beyond 35 degrees south latitude, are darker than 
others many degrees nearer the equator ; the Botecudos, 
but a little distance from the tropics, are nearly white ; 


CLASSIFICATION OF THE INDIANS. 


19 


the Guayacas, under the line, are fair, while the Char- 
ruas,^t 50 degrees south latitude, are almost black, 
and the Californians, at 25 degrees north latitude, are 
almost white. 

The color seems also not to depend on local situa- 
tion, and in the same individual the covered parts are 
not fairer than those exposed to the heat and moist 
ure. Where the differences are slight, the cause may 
possibly be found in partial emigrations from other 
countries. The characteristic brown tint is said to be 
occasioned by a pigment beneath the lower skin, pe- 
culiar to them with the African family, but wanting in 
the European.. 

Another division of the American race has been 
suggested, into three great classes, according to the 
pursuits on which they depend for subsistence, name- 
ly, huntings fishings and agriculture. The American 
race are further said to be intellectually inferior to the 
Caucasian and Mongolian races. They seem inca- 
pable of a continued process of reasoning on abstract 
subjects. They seize easily and eagerly on simple 
truths, but reject those which require analysis or in- 
vestigation. Their inventive faculties are small, and 
they generally have but little taste for the arts and 
sciences. A most remarkable defect is the difficulty 
diey have of comprehending the relations of numbers. 
Mr. Schoolcraft assured Dr. Morton, that this was the 
cause of most of the misunderstandings in respect to 
treaties between the English and the native tribes. 

The Toltecan family are considered as embracing all 
the semi-civilized nations of Mexico, Peru, and Bogota 
reaching from the Rio Gila, in 33 degrees of north 


20 


CLASSIFICATION OF THE INDIANS. 


latitude, along the western shore of the continent, to 
the frontiers of Chili, and on the eastern coast along 
the Gulf of Mexico. In South America, however, they 
chiefly occupied a narrow strip of land between the 
Andes and the Pacific Ocean. The Bogotese in New 
Grenada were, in civilization, between the Peruvians 
and the Mexicans. The Toltecans were not the sole 
possessors of these regions, but the dominant race, while 
the American race composed the mass of the people. 

The great difference between the Toltecan and the 
American races consisted in the intellectual faculties, 
as shown in their arts and sciences, architectural re- 
mains, pyramids, temples, grottos, bass-reliefs, and 
arabesques ; their roads, aqueducts, fortifications, and 
mining operations. 

With respect to the American languages, there is 
said to exist a remarkable similarity among them. 
From Cape Horn to the Arctic Sea, all the nations have 
languages which possess a distinctive character, but still 
apparently diflering from all those of the Old World. 
This resemblance, too, is said not to be of an indefinite 
kind. It generally consists in the peculiar modes of 
conjugating the verbs by inserting syllables. Vater, a 
distinguished German writer on this subject, says, that 
this wonderful uniformity favcrs, in a singular manner, 
the supposition of a primitive people which formed the 
common stock ^f the American indigenous nations. 
According to M. Balbi, there are more than 438 dif- 
ferent languages, embracing upwards of 2,000 dia- 
lects. He estimates the Indians of the brown race at 
10,000,000, and the races produced by the intermix 
(ure of the pure races at 7,000,000. 


n 


CLASSIFICATION OF THE INDIANS. 21 

We have thus given a general classification of the 
great American family, and the main points respect 
ing the question of their origin. We must confess our 
inability wholly to lift the veil of obscurity in* which 
their early history is involved, or answer, conclusively, 
the inquiry, whence they came, or when America was 
first peopled. We can only offer what we have al- 
ready stated as the most plausible theory, that, ages ago, 
a great nation of Asia passed, at different times, by way 
of Behring’s Straits, into the American Continent, and 
in the course of centuries spread themselves over its 
surface. Here we suppose them to have become di- 
vided by the slow influences of climate, and other cir- 
cumstances, into the several varieties which they dis- 
play. 



THE ABORIGINES OF THE WEST 

INDIES. 


The authentic history of this remarkable and pecu- 
liar race of men opens with the morning of the 12th of 
October, 1492. Columbus, the discoverer of the New 
World, at that memorable date, landed upon the Ameri- 
can soil, and, as if his first action was to be a type of the 
consequences about to follow in respect to the wonder- 
ing natives who beheld him and his companions, he 
landed with a drawn sword in his hand. If the phi- 
lanthropic spirit of the great discoverer could have 
shaped events, the fate of the aborigines of the new 
continent had been widely different ; but who, that 
reads their history, can fail to see that the Christians 
of the Eastern Hemisphere have brought but the 
sword to the American race } 

Nor were the first actions of the natives, upon be- 
holding this advent of beings that seemed to them of 
heavenly birth, hardly less significant of their charac- 
ter and doom. They were at first filled with wonder 
and awe, and then, in conformity with their confid- 
ing nature, came forward and timidly welcomed the 
strangers. The following is Irving’s picturesque de- 
scription of the scene. 


f 


h 

THE ABORIGINES OF THE WEST INDIES. 23 

The natives of the island, when at the dawn of 
day they had beheld the ships hovering on the coast, 
had supposed them some monsters, which had issued 
from the deep during the night. When they beheld the 
boats approach the shore, and a number of strange 
beings, clad in glittering steel, or raiment of various 
colors, landing upon the beach, they fled in aflright 
to the woods. 

“ Finding, however, that there was no attempt to 
pursue or molest them, they gradually recovered from 
their terror, and approached the Spaniards with great 
awe, frequently prostrating themselves, and making 
signs of adoration. During the ceremony of taking 
possession, they remained gazing, in timid admiration, 
at the complexion, the beards, the shining armor, 
and splendid dress of the Spaniards. 

“ The admiral particularly attracted their attention, 
from his commanding height, his air of authority, his 
scarlet dress, and the deference paid him by his com- 
panions ; all which pointed him out to be the com- 
mander. 

“ When they had still further recovered from their 
fears, they approached the Spaniards, touched their 
beards, and examined their hands and faces, admiring 
their whiteness. Columbus was pleased with their sim- 
plicity, their gentleness, and the confidence they re- 
posed in beings who must have appeared so strange 
and formidable, and he submitted to their scrutiny with 
perfect acquiescence. 

“ The wondering savages were won by this benig- 
nity. They now supposed that the ships had sailed 
out of the crystal firmanent which bounded their hori* 


24 THE ABORIGINES OF THE WEST INDIES. 

zon, or that they had descended from above on their 
ample wings, and that these marvellous beings were 
inhabitants of the skies. 

“ The natives of the island were no less objects of 
curiosity to the Spaniards, differing, as they did, from 
any race of men they had seen. They were entire- 
ly naked, and painted with a variety of colors and de- 
vices, so as to give them a wild and fantastic appear- 
ance. Their natural complexion was of a tawny or 
copper hue, and they had no beards. Their hair was 
straight and coarse ; their features, though disfigured 
by paint, were agreeable ; they had lofty foreheads, 
and remarkably 'fine eyes. 

“ They were of moderate stature, and well shaped. 
Thefy appeared to be a simple and artless people, and 
of gentle and friendly dispositions. Their only arms 
were lances, hardened at the end by fire, or pointed 
with a flint or the bone of a fish. There was no iron 
among them, nor did they know its properties ; for, 
when a drawn sword was presented to them, they un- 
guardedly took it by the edge. 

Columbus distributed among them colored caps, 
glass beads, hawk’s bells, and other trifles, which they 
received as inestimable gifts, and, decorating them- 
selves with them, were wonderfully delighted with 
their finery. In return, they brought cakes of a kind 
of bread called cassava, made from the vuca root, 
which constituted a principal part of their food.” 

Thus kindly began the intercourse between the Old 
World and the New ; but the demon of avarice soon 
disturbed their peace. The Spaniards perceived small 
ornaments of gold in the noses of some of the natives 


HE ABORIGINES OF THE WEST ^NDIES. 25 

On being asked where this precious metal was pro- 
cured, they answered by signs, pointing to the south, 
and Columbus understood them to say, that a king re- 
sided in that quarter, of such wealth that he was served 
in great vessels of gold. 

•Columbus took seven of the Indians with him, to 
serve as interpreters and guides, and set sail to find 
the country of gold. He cruised among the beautiful 
islands, and stopped at three of them. These were 
green, fertile, and abounding with spices and odorifer- 
ous trees. The inhabitants everywhere appeared the 
same, — simple, harmless, and happy, and totally un- 
acquainted with civilized man. 

Columbus was disappointed in his hopes of finding 
gold or spices in these islands ; but the natives con- 
tinued to point to the south, and then spoke of an 
island in that direction called Cuba, which the Span- 
iards understood them to say abounded in gold, pearls, 
and spices. People often believe what they earnestly 
wish ; and Columbus sailed in search of Cuba, fully 
confident that he should find the land of riches. He 
arrived in sight of it on the 28th of October, 1492. 

Here he found a most lovely country, and the 
houses of the Indians, neatly built of the branches 
of palm-trees, in the shape of pavilions, were scat- 
tered under the trees, like tents in a camp. But hear- 
ing of a province in the centre of the' island, where, 
as he understood the Indians to say, a great prince 
ruled, Columbus determined to send a present to him. 
and one of his letters of recommendation from the 
king and queen of Spain. 

For this purpose he chose two Spaniards, one of 

xr.— ft 


26 THE ABORIGINES OF THE WEST INDIES. 

whom was a converted Jew, and knew Hebrew, Chal- 
daic, and Arabic. Columbus thought the prince must 
understand one or the other of these languages. Two 
Indians were sent with them as guides. They were 
furnished with strings of beads, and various trinkets, 
for their travelling expenses ; and they were enjoined 
to ascertain the situation of the provinces and rivers of 
Asia, — for Columbus thought the West Indies were a 
part of the Eastern Continent. 

The Jew found his Hebrew, Chaldaic, and Arabic 
of no avail, and the Indian interpreter was obliged to 
be the orator. He made a regular speech after the 
Indian manner, extolling the power, wealth, and gen- 
erosity of the white men. When he had finished, the 
Indians crowded round the Spaniards, touched and ex- 
amined their skin and raiment, and kissed their hands 
and feet in token of adoration. But they had no gold 
to give them. 

It was here that tobacco was first discovered. When 
the envoys were on their return, they saw several of 
the natives going about with firebrands in their hands, 
and certain dried herbs which they rolled up in a leaf, 
and, lighting one end, put the other into their mouths, 
and continued inhaling and puffing out the smoke. A 
roll of this kind they called tobacco. The Spaniards 
were struck with astonishment at this smoking. 

When Columbus became convinced that there was 
no gold of consequence to be found in Cuba, he sailed 
in quest of some richer lands, and soon discovered the 
island of Hispaniola, or Hayti. It was a beautiful 
island. The high mountains swept down into luxu- 
riant plains and green savannas, while the appearance 


THE ABORIGINES OF THE WEST INDIES. 27 


of cultivated fields, with the numerous fires at night, 
and the volumes of smoke which rose in various parts 
by day, all showed it to be populous. Columbus im- 
mediately stood in towards the land, to the great con- 
sternation of his Indian guides, who assured him by 
signs that the inhabitants had but one eye, and were 
fierce and cruel cannibals. 

Columbus entered a harbour at the western end of the 
island of Hayti, on the evening of the 6th of Decem- 
ber. He gave to the harbour the name of St. Nicholas, 
which it bears to this day. The inhabitants were 
frightened at the approach of the ships, and they all 
fled to fhe mountains. It was some time before any 
of the natives could be found. At last three sailors 
succeeded in overtaking a young and beautiful female, 
whom they carried to the ships. 

She was treated with the greatest kindness, and dis- 
missed finely clothed, and loaded with presents of 
beads, hawk’s bells, and other pretty bawbles. Colum- 
bus hoped by this conduct to conciliate the Indians ; 
and he succeeded. The next day, when the Spaniards 
landed, the natives permitted them to enter their 
houses, and set before them bread, fish, roots, and fruits 
of various kinds, in the most kind and hospitable man- 
ner. 

Columbus sailed along the coast, continuing his in- 
tercourse with the natives, some of whom had orna- 
ments of gold, which they readily exchanged for the 
merest trifle of European manufacture. These poor, 
simple people little thought that to obtain gold these 
Christians would destroy all the Indians in the islands. 
No, — they believed the Spaniards were more than mor- 


28 


THE ABORIGINES OF THE WEST INDIES. 


tal, and that the country from which they came must 
exist somewhere in the skies. 

The generous and kind feelings of the natives were 
shown to great advantage when Columbus was dis- 
tressed by the loss of his ship. He was sailing to visit 
a grand cacique or chieftain named Guacanagari, who 
resided on the coast to the eastward, when his ship ran 
aground, and, the breakers beating against her, she 
was entirely wrecked. He imniediately sent messen- 
gers to inform Guacanagari of this misfortune. 

When the cacique heard of the distress of his guest, 
he was so much afflicted as to shed tears ; and never 
in any civilized country were the vaunted rites of hos- 
pitality more scrupulously observed than by this uncul- 
tivated savage. He assembled his people and sent off 
all his canoes to the assistance of Columbus, assuring 
him, at the same time, that every thing he possessed 
was at his service. The effects were landed from the 
wreck and deposited near the dwelling of the cacique, 
and a guard set over them, until houses could be pre- 
pared, in which they could be stored. 

There seemed, however, no disposition among the 
natives to take advantage of the misfortune of the 
strangers, or to plunder the treasures thus cast upon 
their shores, though they must have been inestimable 
m their eyes. On the contrary, they manifested as 
deep a concern at the disaster of the Spaniards as if 
it had happened to themselves, and their only study 
was, how they could administer relief and consolation. 

Columbus was greatly affected by this unexpected 
goodness. “ These people,” said he in his journal, 

' love their neighbours as themselves ; their discourse 


THE ABORIGINES OF THE WEST INDIES. 29 

is eve sweet and gentle, and aecompanied by a snnile. 
There is not in the world a better nation or a better 
land.” 

When the cacique first met Columbus, the latter 
appeared dejected ; and the good Indian, much mov- 
ed, again offered Columbus every thing he possess- 
ed that could be of service to him. He invited him 
on shore, where a banquet was prepared for his enter- 
tainment, consisting of various kinds of fish and fruit 
After the feast, Columbus was conducted to the beauti- 
ful groves which surrounded the dwelling of the ca- 
cique, where upwards of a thousand of the natives 
were assembled, all perfectly naked, who performed 
several of their national games and dances. 

Thus did this generous Indian try, by every means 
in his power, to cheer the melancholy of his guest, 
showing a warmth of sympathy, a delicacy of atten- 
tion, and an innate dignity and refinement, which 
could not have been expected from one in his savage 
state. He was treated with great deference by his 
subjects, and conducted himself towards them with a 
gracious and prince-like majesty. 

Three houses were given to the shipwrecked crew 
for their residence. Here, living on shore, and min- 
gling freely with the natives, they became fascinated 
by their easy and idle mode of life. They were go > 
erned by the caciques with an absolute, but patriarchal 
and easy rule, and existed in that state of primiti\ 
and savage simplicity which some philosophers have 
fondly pictured as the most enviable on earth. 

The following is the opinion of old Peter Martyr : 

‘‘ It is certain that the land among these people (the 

8 * 


30 


THE ABORIGINES OF THE WEST INDIES. 

# 

Indians) is as common as the sun and water, and that 
‘ mine and thine,’ the seeds of all mischief, have no 
place with them. They are content with so little, 
that, in so large a country, they have rather superfluity 
than scarceness ; so that they seem to live in a golden 
world, without toil, in open gardens, neither intrench- 
ed ndr shut up by walls or hedges. They deal truly 
with one another, without laws, or books, or judges.” 

In fact, these Indians seemed to be perfectly con- 
tented ; their few fields, cultivated almost without la- 
bor, furnished roots and vegetables ; their groves were 
.aden with delicious fruit; and the coast and rivers 
aoounded with fish. Softened by the indulgence of 
nature, a great part of the day was passed by them in 
indolent repose. In the evening they danced in their 
fragrant groves to their national songs, or the rude 
sound of their silver drums. 

Such was the character of the natives of many of 
the West India islands, when first discovered. Sim- 
ple and ignorant they were, and indolent also, but then 
they were kind-hearted, generous, and happy. And 
their sense of justice, and of the obligations of man to 
do right, are beautifully set forth in the following 
story. 

It was a custom with Columbus to erect crosses in 
all remarkable places, to denote the discovery of the 
country, and its subjugation to the Catholic faith. He 
once performed this ceremony on the banks of a river 
m Cuba. It was on a Sunday morning. The cacique 
attended, and also a favorite of his, a venerable In- 
dian, fourscore years of age. 

While mass was performed in a stately grove, the 


THE ABORIGINES OF THE WEST INDIES. 


31 


natives looked on with awe and reverence. When it 
was ended, the old man made a speech to Columbus 
in the Indian manner. ‘‘ I am told,” said he, ‘‘ that 
thou hast lately come to these lands with a mighty 
force, and hast subdued many countries, spreading 
great fear among the people ; but be not vainglo- 
rious. 

“ According to our belief, the souls of men have 
two journeys to perform, after they have departed from 
the body : one to a place dismal, foul, and covered with 
darkness, prepared for such men as have been unjust 
and cruel to their fellow-men ; the other full of delight, 
for such as have promoted peace on earth. If, then, 
thou art mortal, and dost expect to die, beware that 
thou hurt no man wrongfully, neither do harm to those 
who have done no harm to thee.” 

When this speech was explained to Columbus by 
his interpreter, he was greatly moved, and rejoiced to 
hear this doctrine of the future state of the soul, hav- 
ing supposed that no belief of the kind existed among 
the inhabitants of these countries. He assured the 
old man that he had been sent by his sovereigns, to 
teach them the true religion, to protect them from 
harm, and subdue their enemies, the Caribs. 

Alas for ,he simple Indians who believed such pro- 
fessions ! Columbus, no doubt, was sincere ; but the 
adventurers who accompanied him, and the tyrants 
who followed him, cared only for riches for them- 
selves. They ground down the poor, harmless red 
men beneath a harsh system of labor, obliging them 
to furnish, month by month, so much gold. This gold 
was found in fine grains, and it was a severe task to 


32 THE ABORIGINES OF THE WJf.ST .INDIES. 

search the mountain-pebbles and the sands of the 
plains for the shining dust. 

Then the islands, after they were seized upon by 
the Christians, were parcelled out among the leaders, 
and the Indians were compelled to be their slaves. 
No wonder deep despair fell upon the natives. 
Weak and indolent by nature, and brought up in the 
untasked idleness of their soft climate and their fruit- 
ful groves, death itself seemed preferable to a life of 
toil and anxiety. 

The pleasant life of the island was at an end : the 
dream in the shade by day ; the slumber during the 
noontide heat by the fountain, or under the spreading 
palm ; and the song, and the dance, and the game in 
the mellow evening, when summoned to their simple 
amusements by the rude Indian drum. TI>ey spoke 
of the times that were past, before the white men had 
introduced sorrow, and slavery, and weary labor 
among them ; and their songs were mournful, and 
their dances slow. 

They had flattered themselves, for a time, that the 
visit of the strangers would be but temporary, and that, 
spreading their ample sails, their ships would waft 
them back to their home in the sky. In their sim- 
plicity, they had frequently inquired of the Spaniards 
when they intended to return to Turey, or the heavens. 
But when all such hope was at an end vhey became 
desperate, and resorted to a forlorn and terrible alter- 
native. 

They knew the Spaniards depended chiefly on the 
supplies raised in the islands for a subsistence ; and 
these poor Indians endeavoured to produce a famine. 


THE ABORIGINES OF THE WEST INDIES. 


33 


For this purpose they destroyed their fields of maize, 
stripped the trees of their fruit, pulled up the yuca 
and other roots, and then fied to the mountains. 

The Spaniards were reduced to much distress, but 
were partially relieved by supplies from Spain. To 
revenge themselves on the Indians, they pursued them 
to their mountain retreats, hunted them from one 
dreary fastness to another, like wild beasts, until thou- 
sands perished in dens and caverns, of famine and 
sickness, and the survivors, yielding themselves up in 
despair, submitted to the yoke of slavery. But they 
did not long bear the burden of life under their civil 
ized masters. In 1504, only twelve years after the 
discovery of Hayti, when Columbus visited it, (under 
the administration of Ovando,) he thus wrote to his 
sovereigns : “ Since I left the island, six parts out of 
«even of the natives are dead, all through ill-treatment 
and inhumanity ; some by the sword, others by blows 
and cruel usage, or by hunger.” 

No wonder these oppressed Indians considered the 
Christians the incarnation of all evil. Their feelings 
were often expressed in a manner that must have 
touched the heart of a real Christian, if there was 
such a one among their oppressors. 

When Velasquez set out to conquer Cuba, he had 
only three hundred men ; and these were thought suf- 
. fi^ient to subdue an island above seven hundred miles 
in length, and filled with inhabitants. From this cir- 
cumstance we may understand how naturally mild and 
unwarlike was the character of the Indians. Indeed, 
they offered no opposition to the Spaniards, except in 
one district. Hatuey, a cacique who had fled from 

3 


34 THE ABORIGINES OF THE WEST INDIES. 

Hayti, had taken possession of the eastern extremity 
of Cuba. He stood upon tlie defensive, and endeavour- 
ed to drive the Spaniards back to their ships. He was 
soon defeated and taken prisoner. 

Velasquez considered him as a slave who had taken 
arms against his master, and condemned him to the 
flames. When Hatuey was tied to the stake, a friar 
came forward, and told him that if he would embrace 
the Christian faith, he should be immediately, on his 
death, admitted into heaven. 

“ Are there any Spaniards,’* says Hatuey, after 
some pause, “ in that region of bliss you describe ? ” 

“ Yes,” replied the monk, “ but only such as are 
worthy and good.” 

The best of them,” returned the indignant Indian, 
“ have neither worth nor goodness ; I will not go to a 
place where I may meet with one of that cruel race.” 


THE CARIES. 

Columbus discovered the islands of the Caribs ox 
Charibs, now called the Caribbees, during his second 
voyage to America, in 1493. The first island he saw 
he named Dominica, because he discovered it on Sun- . 
day. As the ships gently moved onward, c'her islands 
rose to sight, one after another, covered w ith forests, 
and enlivened with flocks of parrots and other tropical 
birds, while the whole air was sweetened by the fra 
grance of the breezes which passed over them. 


THE CARIES. 


35 


This beautiful cluster of islands is called the Antil- 
les. They extend from the eastern end of Porto Rico 
to the cpast of Paria on the southern continent, form- 

» f 

ing a kind of barrier between the main ocean and the 
Caribbean Sea. Here was the country of the Caribs. 

Columbus had heard of the Caribs during his stay at 
Hayti and Cuba, at the time of his first voyage. The 
timid and indolent race of Indians in those .pleasant 
islands were afraid of the Caribs, and had repeatedly 
besought Columbus to assist them in overcoming these 
their ferocious enemies. The Caribs were represented 
as terrible warriors, and cruel cannibals, who roasted 
and ate their captives. This the gentle Haytians 
thought, truly enough, was a good pretext for warning 
the Christians against such foes. Columbus did not 
at first imagine that the beautiful paradise he saw, as 
he sailed onward among these green and spicy islands, 
could be the residence of cruel men ; but on landing 
at Guadaloupe, he soon became convinced he was 
truly in a Golgotha, a place of skulls. He there saw 
human limbs hanging in tlie houses, as if curing for 
provisions, and some even roasting at the fire for food. 
He knew then that he was in “^he countr) of the Caribs. 

On touching at the island of Montseirat, Columbus 
was informed that the Caribs had eaten up all the in- 
habitants. If that had been true, it seerr.B strange how 
he obtained his information. 

It is probable many of these stories were exaggera 
tions. The Caribs were a warlike people, in many 
respects essentially differing in character from the na- 
tives of the other West India islands. I’hey were en- 
terprising as well as ferocioi'^, and \riquently made 


36 THE ABORiGINES OF THE WEST INDIES. 

roving expeditions in their canoes to the distance of 
one hundred and fifty leagues, invading the islands^ 
ravaging the villages, making slaves of the youngest 
and handsomest females, and carrying off the men to 
be killed and eaten. 

These things were bad enough, and it is not strange 
report should make them more terrible than the reali- 
ty. The Caribs also gave the Spaniards more trouble 
than did the effeminate natives of the other islands. 
They fought their invaders desperately. In some cases 
the women showed as much bravery as the men. At 
Santa Cruz the females plied their bows with such 
vigor, that one of them sent an arrow through a Span- 
ish buckler, and wounded the soldier who bore it. 

There have been many speculations respecting the 
origin of the Caribs. That they were a different race 
from the inhabitants of the other islands is generally 
acknowledged. They also differed from the Indians 
of Mexico and Peru ; though some writers think they 
were culprits banished either from the continent or^ 
the large islands, and thus a difference of situation 
might have produced a difference of manners. Others 
think they were descended from some civilized people 
of Europe or Africa, and imagine that there is no dif- 
ficulty attending the belief, that a Carthaginian or 
Phoenician vessel might have been overtaken by a 
storm, and blown about by the gales, till it entered the 
current of the trade-winds, when it would have been 
easily carried to the West Indies. 

The Caribs possessed as many of the arts as were 
necessary to live at ease in that luxurious climate. 
Some of these have excited the admiration of Eu^ 


THE CARIES. 


37 


ropeans.* In their subsequent intercourse with the 
Europeans, they have, in some instances, proved faith- 
less and treacherous. In 1708, the English entered 
into an agreement with the Caribs in St. Vincent to 
attack the French colonies in Martinico. The French 
governor heard of the treaty, and sent Major Coullel, 
who was a great favorite with the savages, to persuade 
them to break the treaty. Coullet took with him a 
number of officers and servants, and a good store of 
provisions and liquors. He reached St. Vincent, gave 
a grand entertainment to the principal Caribs, and, 
after circulating the brandy freely, he got himself 
painted red, and made them a flaming speech. He 
iirged them to break their connection with the English. 
How could they refuse a man who gave them brandy, 
and who was red as themselves ? They abandonea 
their English friends, and burned all the timber the 
English had cut on the island, and butchered the first 
Englishmen who arrived. But their crimes were no 
worse than those of their Christian advisers, who, on 
both sides, were inciting these savages to war. 

But the Caribs are gone from their chosen abode 
They have vanished from the West Indies, and their 
name is but a remembrance. The English and the 
French, chiefly the latter, have destroyed them. There 
is, however, one pleasant reflection attending their fate. 
Though destroyed, they were never enslaved. None 
of their conquerors could compel them to labor. Even 
those who have attempted to hire Caribs for servants have 


* For an account of these, see “ Manners and Customs of 
the Indians” in “The Cabinet Library.” 

XI.— 4 


38 THE AB0R1<?INES OF THE WEST INDIES. 

found it impossible to derive any benefit or profit from 
them ; they would not be commanded or reprimanded. 

This independence was called pride, indolence and 
stubbornness, by their conquerors. If the Caribs had 
had historians to record their wrongs, and their re- 
sistance to an overwhelming tyranny, they would have 
set the matter in a very different light. They would 
have expressed the sentiment which the conduct of 
their countrymen so steadily exemplified, — that it was 
better to die free than to live slaves. 

So determined was their resistance to all kinds of 
authority, that it became a proverb among the Eu- 
ropeans, that to show displeasure to a Carib was the 
same as beating him, and to beat him was the same as 
to kill him. If they did any thing, it was only what 
they chose, how they chose, and when they chose ; 
and when they were most wanted, it often happened 
that they would not do what was required, nor any 
thing else. 

The French missionaries made many altempts to 
convert the Caribs to Christianity, but without success. 
It is true that some were apparently converted ; they 
learned the catechism and prayers, and were bap* 
tized ; but they always returned to their old habits. 

A man of family and fortune, named Chateau Du- 
bois, settled in Guadaloupe, and devoted a great part of 
his life to the conversion of the Caribs, particularly 
those of Dominica. He constantly entertained a num- 
ber of them, and taught them himself. He died in 
the exercise of these pious and charitable offices, with- 
out the consola.ion of having made one single convert. 

As we have said, several had been baptized, and, 


THE CARIES. 


39 


as he hoped, they were well instructed, and apparently 
well grounded in the Christian religion ; but after they 
returned to their own people, they soon resumed all 
the Indian customs, and their natural indifference to all 
religion. 

Some years after the death of Dubois, one of these 
Carib apostates was at Martin ico. He spoke French 
correctly, could read and write, had been baptized, 
and was then upwards of fifty years old. When re- 
minded of the truths he had been taught, and re- 
proached for his apostasy, he replied, “ that if he had 
been born of Christian parents, or if he had continued 
to live among the French, he would still have pro- 
fessed Christianity ; but that, having returned to his 
own country and his own people, he could not resolve 
to live in a manner differing from their way of life, 
and by so doing expose himself to the hatred and con- 
tempt of his relations.” Alas ! it is small matter of 
wonder that the Carib thought the Christian religion 
was only a profession. Had those who bore that 
name always been Christians in reality, and treated 
the poor ignorant savages with the justice, truth, and 
mercy which the gospel enjoins, what a different tale 
the settlement of the New World would have fur- 
nished ! 

The Caribs, who spread themselves over the main 
land contiguous to their islands, were similar in char- 
acteristics to those of the West Indies, of whom they 
are supposed to have been the original stock. They 
formed an alliance with the English under Sir Walter 
Raleigh, in one of his romantic expeditions on that 
coast, in 1595, and for a long time preserved the Eng- 


40 THE ABORIGINES OF THE WEST INDIES. 

lish colors which were presented to them on that oc 
casion. The Caribs of the continent are said to have 
been divided into the Maritimos and the Medilerra- 
neos. The former lived in plams, and upon the coast 
of the Atlantic, and are said to have been more fero 
cious than any other Indians who infest the settlements 
of the missions on the Eiver Orinoco. The Mediter- 
raneos inhabited the south side of the source of the 
Kiver Caroni, and are described as of a more pacific 
nature ; they began to receive the Jesuit missionaries 
and embrace the Christian faith in 1738. 

Humboldt is of the opinion that the Gal ibis of Cay- 
enne, and other tribes still existing in that quarter, are 
remains of the great Caribbean nation. 



EARLY MEXICAN HISTORY. 


According to the annals preserved by the Mexicans, 
the country embraced in the vale of Mexico was for- 
merly called Anahuac. The rest of the territory con- 
tained the kingdoms of Mexico, Acolhuacan, Tlacopan, 
Michuacan, and the republics of Tlaxcallan or Tlascala, 
Cholollan, and Huexotzinco. The people who settled 
the country came from the north. The first inhab- 
itants were called Toltecs or To/tecas, who came 
from a distant region at the northwest in the year 
472. They migrated slowly, cultivating and settling 
as they proceeded, so that it was 104 years before 
they reached a plaoe fifty miles east of the situation 
where Mexico was afterwards built ; there they re- 
mained for twenty years, and built a city called Tol- 
lantzinco. Thence they removed forty miles to the 
westward, and built another city called Tollan or Tula. 

When they first commenced their migration, they 
had a number of chiefs, who, by the time they reached 
To'ilantzinco, were reduced to seven. This form of 
government was afterwar is changed to a monarchy , 
why, we know not, but probably some one of the 
chiefs was more valiant or cunning than his associates, 

4* 


42 


EARLY MEXICAN HISTORY. 


and supplanted them. This monarchy began A. D 
607, and lasted 384 years, in which time they are said 
to have had only eight princes. This fact, however, is 
accounted for by the custom which prevailed, of keep- 
ing up the name of each king for fifty-two years. 

They remained prosperous for 400 years, when a 
famine succeeded, occasioned by a severe drought, 
which was followed by a pestilence that destroyed 
many of them. Tradition says, that a demon appeared 
once at a festival ball, and with giant arms' embraced 
the people, and suffocated them ; that he appeared 
again as a child with a putrid head, and brought the 
plague ; and that, by his persuasion, they abandoned 
Tula, and scattered themselves among various nations, 
by whom they were well received. 

A hundred years afterwards, succeeded a more bar- 
barous people from Amaquemecan. Who or what 
they were is not known, as there is no trace of them 
among the American nations ; nor is there any reason 
given why they left their own country. Tliey are 
said to have been eight months on their way, led by a 
son of their monarch, called Xolotl, who sent his son 
to survey the country, which he took possession of by 
shootinjj four arrows to the four winds. He chose for 
his capital Tenayuca, six miles north of the site of 
Mexico ; in which direction most of the people settled. 
It is asserted that their numbers amounted to 1,000,000 ; 
as ascertained by twelve piles of stones which were 
thrown up at a review of the people but this is prob- 
ably an exaggeration. 

This barbarous people formed alliances with the relics 
of the Toltecan race, and their prince, Nopaltzin, mar- 


EARLY MEXICAN HISTORY. 


45 


ried a descendant of the Toltecan royal family. The 
effect of these intermarriages on them was a happy one, 
as they were civilized by the Toltecas, who were much 
their superiors in a knowledge of the arts. Heretofore 
tliey had subsisted only on roots and fruits, and by 
hunting ; sucking the blood of the animals they killed, 
and taking their skins for clothing ; but now they 
began to dig up and sow the ground, to work metals, 
and attempt other useful arts. About eighteen years 
after their arrival, six persons made their appearance 
as an embassy from a people living near Amaqueme 
can ; a place was assigned them, and in a few years 
three princes came with a large army of Acolhuans, 
who received three princesses in marriage. The two 
nations gradually coalesced in one, and took the name of 
the new comers ; the name Chechemecas being left to 
the ruder and more barbarous tribes who lived by hunt* 
ing and on roots. These latter joined the Otomies, a bar- 
barous people who lived farther north, in the mountains. 

Xblotl divided his dominions into three states, name- 
ly, Azcapozalco, eighteen miles west of Tezcuco, Xal- 
tocan, and Coatlichan, which he conferred, in fief, on 
his three sons-in-law. As was natural, various civil wars 
afterwards occurred during the reigns of the sovereigns 
who succeeded Xolotl. Nopaltzin reigned thirty-two 
years, and is said to have died at tlie advanced age of 
ninety-two. After him came Tlotzin, who reigned 
thirty-six years, and was a good prince. He was suc- 
ceeded by Quinatzin, a luxurious tyrant, who, cn the 
removal of his court from Tenayuca to Tezcuco, caused 
himself to be borne thither in a litter by four lords, 
while a fifth held an umbrella over him to keep off the 


44 


EARLY ME-IICAN HISTORY 


sun ; he is said to have reigned sixty years In his 
reign, tliere were many rebellions, and on his death 
he was succeeded by a prince named Techotlala. 

In the year 1160, the Mexicans, Aztecas, or Aztecs 
made their appearance. They are said to have come 
from the region north of the Gulf of California, and 
were induced to migrate from the country where thf"’’ 
lived by the persuasion of Huitziton, a man of great 
influence among them. He is said to have observed a 
little singing-bird, whose notes sounded like Tihui^ 
which in their language meant. Let us go. He led 
another person, also a man of influence, to observe 
this, and they persuaded the people to obey the sugges- 
tion, as they said, of the secret divinity. This was 
no difficult matter in a partially civilized and super- 
stitious community. They proceeded, as their tradition 
relates, to the River Gila, where they stopped for a 
time, and where, it is affirmed, remains have been 
found at a somewhat recent date. 

They then removed to a place about 250 miles from 
Chihuahua, toward the north -northwest, now called in 
Spanish Casas Grandes^ on account of a large building 
found there, on the plan of those in New Mexico, having 
three floors with a terrace above them, the door for en- 
trance opening on the second floor, to which the ascent 
was by a ladder. Other remains, also, of a fortress, and 
various utensils, have been found there. From this spot 
they proceeded southward, crossed the mountains, and 
stopped at Culiacan, a place on the Gulf of California 
in Lat. 24° N. Here they made, a wooden image, 
called Huitzilopochtli, which they carried on a chair of 
’•eeds, and appointed priests for its service. When they 


h 


EARLY MEXICAN HISTORY. 45 

V - 

left their country, on tlieir migration, they consisted of 
seven different tribes ; but here the Mexicans were left 
with iheir god by the others, catted the Xochimilcas^ 
Tepanecas, Chalcbese, Colhuas, Tlahuicas, and Tlas- 
calans, who proceeded onwards. The reason of this 
separation is not mentioned, except that it was at the 
command of the god, from which it may be conjec- 
tured that some quarrel had arisen with respect to his 
worship. 

On their way to Tula, the Mexicans became divided 
into two factions ; yet they kept together, for the sake of 
the god, while they built altars, and left their sick in 
different places. They remained in Tula nine years, 
and spent eleven more in the countries adjoining. In 
1216, they reached Tzompanco, a city in the vale of 
Mexico, and were hospitably received by the lord of 
the district; his son, named Ilhuitcatl, married among 
them. From him have descended all the Mexican 
monarchs. The people continued to migrate along the 
Lake Tezcuco during the reign of Xolotl, but in the 
reign of Nopaltzin they were persecuted, and obliged, 
in 1245, to go to Chapoltepec, a mountain two miles 
from Mexico. They then took refuge in the small 
islands Acocolco, at the southern extremity of the 
Lake of Mexico. Here they lived miserably for 52 
years, till the year 1314, when they were reduced 
slavery by a petty king of Colhuacan, by w4iom tbt. 
were treacherously entrapped and cruelly oppressed. 

Some years after, on the occasion of a war between 
the Colhuas and the Xochimilcas, in which the latter 
were victorious, the Colhuas were obliged to re- 
lease their sla\es, who fought with great bravery, cut- 


46 


EARLY MEXICAN HISTORY. 


ting off the ears of the enemies they had killed, which 
they produced on being reproached with cowardice. 
The effect of this wus to excite such a detestation of 
them, that they were desired to leave the country. 
They did so, and went north till they came to a -place 
called Acatzitzintlan, and afterwards Mexicaltzinco ; 
but not liking this, they went on to Iztacalco, still near- 
er to the site of Mexico. Here they remained two 
years, and then went to a place on the lake, where 
they found the nopal growing on a stone, and over it 
the foot of an eagle ; this was the place marked out 
by the oracle. Here they ended their wanderings, 
and erected an altar to their god ; one of them went 
for a victim, and found a Colhuah, whom they killed, 
and offered as a sacrifice to the idol. Here, too, they 
built their rush huts, and formed a city, which was 
called Tenochlitlan, and afterwards Mexico, or the 
place of Mexitli, their god of war. 

This was in 1325; the city was situated on a small 
island in the middle of a great lake, without ground 
sufficient for cultivation, or even to build upon. It was 
necersary, therefore, to enlarge it ; and for this pur- 
pose they drove down piles and palisades, and with 
stones, turf, &c., thus united the other small islands to 
the larger one. To procure stone and wood, they ex- 
changed fish and water-fowl with some other nations, 
and made, with incredible industry, floating gardens, 
on which they raised vegetable products. They here 
remained thirteen years at peace, but afterwards quar- 
rels ensued, and the factions separated ; one of them 
went to a small island a little northward, named Xal 
lilolco, afterwards Tlatelolco. 


EARLY MEXICAN HISTORY. 


47 


These divided their city into four parts, each quarter 
tiaving its tutelar deity. In the midst of the city, 
Mexitli was worshipped with horrible rites, and the 
sacrifice of prisoners. Under pretence of consecrat- 
ing her to be the mother of their god, they sought the 
presence of a Colhuan princess at their rites ; and 
when the request was granted, they put her to death, 
flayed her body, and dressed one of their brave' men 
in her skin. The father was invited to be present and 
officiate as the priest. All was darkness, till, on light- 
ing the copal in his censer to begin the rites of wor- 
ship, he saw the horrible spectacle of his immolated 
daughter. 

In 1852, the Mexicans changed their aristocracy of 
twenty lords for a monarchy, and elected as their king 
Acamapitzin, who married a daughter of the lord of 
Coatlichan. The Tlatelolcos also chose a king, who 
was a son of the king of the Tepanecas. The king 
of the Tepanecas was persuaded by them to double 
the tributes of the Mexicans, and oppress them. They 
were commanded to transport tD his capital, Azcapo- 
zalco, a great floating garden, producing every kind 
of vegetable known in Anahuac ; when this was done, 
the next year, another garden was required, with a 
duck and a swan in it sitting on their eggs, ready to 
hatch on arriving at Azcapozalco ; and then again, a 
garden was exacted from them having a live stag, 
which they were obliged to hunt in the mountaiiis, 
among their enemies. 

Acamapitzin, the king of Mexico, reigned thirty- 
seven years, and died in 1389, and, after an interreg- 
num of four months, his son Huitzilihuitl succeeded 


48 


EARLY MEXICAN HISTORY. 


him. He requested, for a wife, one of the daughters 
of the king of Azcapozalco, on which occasion the 
ambassadors are said to have made the following 
speech : “ We beseech you, with the most profound 
respect, to take compassion on our master and your 
servant, Huitzilihuitl. He is without a wife, and we 
are without a queen. Vouchsafe, Sire, to part with one 
of ydur jewels or most precious feathers. Give us 
one of your daughters, who may come and reign over 
us in a country which belongs to you.” This request 
was granted. 

It will be recollected that the Acolhuans were under 
the government of Techotlala, son of Quinatzin. After 
a thirty years’ peace, a revolt was begun by a prince 
called Tzompan, a descendant of one of the three 
original Acolhuan princes. The rebel was defeated 
and put to death. The Mexicans, in this war, were 
the allies of Techotlala, and showed great valor. 

The son of the king of the Tepanecas, Maxtlaton, 
fearing that his sister’s son by the Mexican king might 
obtain the Tepanecan crown, began to oppress the 
Mexicans, and sent assassins to murder his nephew. 
The Mexicans, however, were too weak to resent this 
baseness. 

The rival Mexicans and Tlatelolcos advanced to- 
gether in wealth and power. Techotlala, the Acolhuan 
king, was succeeded by Ixtlilxochitl in 1406. The king 
of Azcapozalco, his vassal, sought to stir up rebellion, 
but he was defeated, and compelled to sue for peace. 
The same year in which this occurred, the Mexican 
king died, and his son, Chimalpopoca, was chosen his 
successor. 


EARLY MEXICAN HISTORY. 


49 


The king of the Acolhuans, mentioned above, was 
driven from his kingdom, and both he and one of his 
grandsons were cut off by the treachery of the Tepane- 
cas. The rebels, led on by their king, Tezozomoc, 
poured in, and conquered Acolhuacan. Tezozomoc 
then gave Tezcuco to the Mexican king, Chimalpo- 
poca, and other portions to the king of Tlatelolco, and 
proclaimed his own capital, Azcapozalco, the metropo- 
lis of all the kingdoms of Acolhuacan. He was a 
great tyrant, and was tormented with dreams, that the 
son of the murdered king of the Acolhuans, Nezahual- 
coyotl, transformed into an eagle, had eaten out his 
heart, or, in the shape of a lion, had sucked his blood. 
He enjoined it, therefore, on his sons, to put the prince, 
of whom he had dreamed, to death. He survived his 
dreams but a year, and died in 1422. 

He was succeeded by his son Tajatzin, but the 
throne was at once usurped by another son, Maxtlaton, 
and Tajatzin took refuge with Chimalpopoca, who ad- 
vised him to invite his brother to a feast, and murder 
him. This being overheard and told to Maxtlaton, he 
pretended not to believe it, but took the same means 
to get rid of Tajatzin. The king of Mexico declined 
the invitation, and escaped for a time ; but his wife 
having been ravished by Maxtlaton, he resolved not 
to. survive his dishonor, but to offer himself in sacrifice 
to his god, Huitzilopochtli. In the midst of the cere- 
monies, Maxtlaton burst in, took him, carried him off, 
and caged him like a criminal. 

This success excited afresh in the mind of Maxtla- 
ton the desire to get the Acolhuan prince, Nezahual- 
coyotl, into his power. He, discovering the designs 

^ XI.— ^ 


50 


EARLY MEXICAN HISTORY. 


of the tyrant, went boldly to him and told him he had 
heard that he wished his life also, and he had there- 
fore come to offer it. Maxtlaton, struck by his con- 
duct, assured him he had no designs against him, nor 
was it his purpose to put the king of Mexico to death, 
lie then gave orders that he should be hospitably en» 
tertained, and even allowed him to visit Chimalpopoca 
in prison. The Mexican king, however, soon after, 
hanged himself with his girdle ; and Nezahualcoyotl, 
suspecting the sincerity of Maxtlaton’s professions, left 
the court. After wandering about for some time, ex- 
posed to various dangers from his inveterate foe, he 
finally took refuge among the Cholulans, who agreed 
to assist him with an army for the purpose of over- 
throwing Maxtlaton, and restoring him to the throne, 
w'hich had been usurped by the father of the tyrant. 

On the death of their king, the Mexicans raised to 
the throne Itzcoatl, a son of their first monarch, 
Acamapitzin, a brave, prudent, and just prince. This* 
choice was offensive to Maxtlaton, — but to Nezahual 
coyotl, on the contrary, it afforded the highest satisfac- 
tion. The new monarch, immediately on his eleva- 
tion to the throne, resolved to unite all^his forces with 
this prince against the tyrant Maxtlaton. On a certain 
occasion, he sent an ambassador to Nezahualcoyotl, 
named Montezuma, who, with another nobleman, was 
taken captive on the way, and carried to Chaleo. 
They were then sent to the Huexotzincas to be sacri- 
ficed. This people, however, spurned the barbarous 
proposal. Maxtlaton was then informed of their cap- 
ture ; but he commanded the lord of Chaleo, whom he 
called a double-minded traitor, to set them both at lib- 


EARLY MEXICAN HISTORY. 


51 


crty. Before this, however, they had escaped, by the 
connivance of the man to whom they had been intrust- 
ed, and returned to Mexico. Maxtlaton then made war 
against Mexico. Montezuma offered to challenge him, 
which he did by presenting to him certain defensive 
weapons, anointing his head, and fixing feathers on it. 
Maxtlaton, in turn, commissioned him in like manner 
to bear a challenge from himself to the king of Mexico. 

A terrible battle ensued ; the tyrant was defeated, his 
city taken, and himself killed, being beaten to death 
while attempting to escape. His people, the Tepanecas, 
were entirely subdued. 

The Mexican king now replaced the Acolhuan 
prince on the throne of his ancestors, and carried on . 
his conquests by his general, Montezuma. On his 
death in 1436, he was succeeded by Montezuma the 
First. This monarch was the greatest that ever sat 
on the throne of Mexico. He engaged in a war with 
Chaleo, the king of which city had taken three Mexican 
lords, and two sons of the king of Tezcuco, put them 
to death, salted and dried their bodies, and placed them 
in his hall as supporters to torches ! Montezuma took 
the city, and executed vengeance on the barbarous 
people. He then reduced Tlatelolco, whose king had 
conspired against the late king of Mexico. He also 
subdued the Mixtecas, and thus enlarged his domin- 
ions. 

In 1457, he sent an expedition against the Cotas- 
tese, and took 6,200 prisoners, whom he sacrificed to 
his god. He also took signal vengeance again on the 
Chalchese, who had rebelled, and had sought to make 
one of his brothers king in his stead. The brother 
pretended to comply ; but mounting a scaffold which 


52 


EARLY MEXICAN HISTORY. 


he ordered to be erected, and taking a bunch of 
flowers in his hand, then urging his attendant Mexi- 
cans to be faithful to their king, he threw himself from 
the scaffold. This enraged the Chalchese so much 
that they put the Mexicans to death, for which Monte- 
zuma made war against them till he had almost extermi- 
nated them. He finally, however, proclaimed a gen- 
eral amnesty. He constructed a dike, nine miles long 
and eleven cubits broad, to prevent the recurrence of 
an inundation which had happened, and which was 
followed by a famine. He died in 1464. 

Montezuma the First was succeeded by Axayacatl, 
who pursued the conquests so successfully begun by 
the late king. A war broke out between the Mexi- 
cans and Tlatelolcos, which ended in the final sub- 
jection of the latter. Their king was killed, and carried 
to the Mexican monarch, who, with his own hand, cut 
open his breast, and tore out his heart. He also 
fought the Otomies, and gained a complete victory, 
making 11,060 prisoners, among whom were three 
chiefs. He died in 1477, and was succeeded by his 
oldest brother, Tizoc, who was probably cut off by 
poison. Tizoc was succeeded by another brother, 
named Ahuitzotl, who finished the great temple begun 
by his predecessor, and, having reserved the prisoners 
taken in his wars for this purpose, he sacrificed, at its 
dedication, as Torquemada asserts, 72,344 ; others say, 
64,060. This was in the year 1486. He carried on 
his conquests even as far as Guatemala, 900 miles 
south of Mexico. He was only once defeated ; this 
was m 1496, by Toitecatl, a Huexotzincan chief. He 
died in 1502, in consequence of striking his head 
' against a door. Two years previous to his death there 


EARLY MEXICAN HISTORY. 


53 


wns an inundation, which was followed by a famine, 
proceeding, it is said, from the decay of the grain. 

Ahuitzotl was succeeded by Montezuma the Second, 
a man of great bravery, and also a priest, but excessive- 
ly haughty. His coronation was attended with the 
greatest display and pomp. He lived in exceeding 
splendor ; lords were his servants, and no one was per- 
mitted to enter his palace without putting off his shoes 
and stockings. Even the meanest utensils of his ser- 
vice were of gold plate and sea-shell. His dinner was 
carried in by 300 or 400 of his young nobles, and he 
pointed with a rod to such dishes as he chose. He was 
served with w'ater for washing by four of his most beau- 
tiful women. The vast expenses necessary to support 
such luxury displeased his su^bjects. He was, however, 
munificent in rewarding his generals, by which means 
he retained their services, and still further secured the 
soldiery by appointing a hospital for invalids. Unsuc- 
cessful for a time in a war with the Tlascalans, he final- 
ly took captive a brave Tiascalan general, named 
Tlahuicol, and put him into a cage. When, however, 
he gave him his liberty to return home, Tlahuicol 
wished to sacrifice himself, and perished in a gladiato- 
rial combat, after having killed eight men, and wound- 
ed twenty more. 

In his reign, the conquest of Mexico was effected 
by Cortes. Previous to the arrival of the Spaniards, 
a. vague apprehension seems to have troubled the minds 
of Montezuma and His people, respecting the downfall 
of their empire, on event which was supposed likewise 
(o be portended by a comet. But the history of this 
catastrophe must be reserved for anothei* chapter. 

5 * 


MEXICO, FROM THE ARRIVAL OF 

CORTES. 


Mexico was first discovered by Juan de Grijalva. 
He, however, seems to have made no attempt to pen- 
etrate into the interior from the sea-coast. In 1518, 
when its conquest was undertaken by Cortes, the Mex- 
ican empire is said to have extended 230 leagues from 
east to west, and 140 from north to south. After ar- 
ranging his expedition, on the 10th of February, 1519, 
Cortes set sail from Havana, in Cuba, and landed at 
the island of Cozumel, on the coast of Yucatan. His 
whole army consisted of but 553 soldiers, 16 horse- 
men, and 110 mechanics, pilots, and mariners. Having 
released some. Spanish captives whom he found there, 
he proceeded to Tabasco. Here he was attacked by 
the natives, but defeated them, and then pursued his 
course north-west to San Juan de Ulua, where he ar- 
rived on the 20th of April. 

Hardly had the Spaniards casf anchor, when they 
saw two canoes, filled with Indians, put off from the 
shore, and steer directly for the general’s ship. Cortes 
received his visiters courteously, and, in exchange for 
the presents of fruit, flowers, and little ornaments of 
gd' d which they brought, gave them a few trinkets, of 


MEXICO, FROM THE ARRIVAL OF CORTES. 55 

European fabric, with which they seemed to be great- 
ly pleased. Through the medium of an interpreter, 
whom he chanced to have on board, a Mexican female 
slave, the celebrated Marina, he learned from the In- 
dians that they belonged to a neighbouring province 
which was subject to the emperor of Mexico, a mighty 
monarch who lived far in the interior, called Monte- 
zuma ; and that they had been sent to ascertain who 
the strangers were, and what they wanted. Cortes 
replied, that he had come only with the most friendly 
purposes, and expressed a desire for an interview with 
the governor of their province. Their inquiries being 
satisfied, his guests shortly afterwards took their leave, 
and returned to the shore. 

The next morning, Cortes landed with all his troops 
and munitions of war, and immediately Set to work, 
with the assistance of the natives, in erecting barracks. 
One can scarcely help being reminded, on reading the 
account of the readiness with which the simple Indians 
engaged in this object, of the fatal alacrity with which 
the Trojans are said to have received within their 
walls the wooden horse that was so soon to prove their 
ruin. 

Once on shore, Cortes informed the governor, Teuh- 
tlile, that he must go to the capital. He said that he 
came as the ambassador of a great monarch, and must 
see Montezuma himself. To this the governor replied, 
that he would send couriers to the capital, to convey 
his request to the emperor, and so soon as he had 
learned Montezuma’s will he would communicate it to 
him. He then ordered his attendants to bring forward 
some presents 'Which he had prepared, the richness 


56 MEXICO, FROBI THE ARRIVAL OF CORTES. 

and splendor of which only confirmed Cortes in .he de- 
termination to prosecute his schemes. In the mean 
while, some Mexican painters who accompanied the 
governor were employed in depicting the appearance 
of the Spaniards, their ships and horses ; and Cortes, 
to render the inteU’gence to be thus conveyed to the 
emperor more striking, arrayed his horsemen, com- 
manded his trumpets to sound, and the guns to be 
fired, by which display the Mexicans were deeply im- 
pressed with the idea of the greatness of the Spaniards. 

Couriers, stationed in relays along the whole line of 
the distance, in a day or two informed Montezuma of 
these things, though it was 180 miles to the capital. 
The monarch, who, in the midst of his fears, seems 
to have summoned somewhat more resolution, com- 
manded Cortes to leave his dominions. He likewise 
sent him more presents ; fine . cotton stuffs resembling 
silk, pictures, gold and silver plates representing the 
sun and moon, bracelets, and other costly things.- 
Cortes, however, still persisted in his purpose ; on hear- 
ing which, the Mexican ambassadors turned away with 
surprise and resentment, and all the natives deserted 
the camp of the Spaniards, nor came any more to 
trade with them. Cortes, already threatened with a 
mutiny among his soldiers, evidently felt his situation 
to be critical, but he nevertheless went on to found a 
city, and establish a government for his colony. 

In this juncture of his affairs, he was visited by some 
people from Cempoalla and Chiahuitztla, two small 
cities or villages tributary to Montezuma. With the 
caciques of these places he formed a treaty of alli- 
ance, and agreed to protect the n against Montezuma. 


I> 


MEXICO, FROM THE ARRIVAL OF CORTES. 57 

Encouraged by bis promises, they went so far as to 
insult the Mexican power, of which they had before 
stood in the greatest dread. Having secured their sub- 
mission, Cortes, to take away all hope of a return to 
Cuba, and inspire his soldiers with a desperate courage, 
burned his fleet ; and, leaving a garrison in his new 
city, called Vera Cruz, he set out for the capital of the 
Mexican empire with 400 infantry, 15 horsemen, and 
seven field-pieces, having also been furnished by the 
Cempoallans with 1300 warriors and 1000 tamanes^ 
or men of burden, to carry the baggage. 

On the route to Mexico lay the little republic of 
Tlascala, and between these two powers there had ex- 
isted for a long period an inextinguishable feud. On 
arriving near the confines of the republic, therefore, 
Cortes sent forward an embassy of Cempoallans in- 
viting the Tlascalans to an alliance, and requesting, 
that, at least, he might be allowed to pass through 
their territories. The senate was immediately con- 
vened to decide upon this application. Maxicatzin, one 
of the oldest of the senators, alluded to a tradition re- 
specting the coming of white men, and favored the 
request. He was opposed by Xicotencatl, who sought 
to prove that the Spaniards were magicians, and as- 
serted, as they had pulled down the images in Cem- 
poalla, that the gods would be against them. They 
resolved therefore on war ; seized the ambassadors, 
and placed them in confinement. 

Their plans were well laid. They prepared an am- 
bush, allowed Cortes tc pass the frontier, and then, af- 
ter a little skirmishing, suddenly fell upon him with an 
ovenvhelming force, which to the astonished view of 


58 MEXICO, FROM THE ARRIVAL OF CORTES. 

the Spaniards appeared to number 100,000 men. Not- 
withstanding the immense Dtids opposed to them, the 
Spaniards bravely maintai:i‘3d their ground ; and at 
length, after a desperate conflict, the Tlascalans, daunt* 
ed by the horses and the fire-arms of tlie Spaniards, to 
which they were unaccustomed, and disheartened by 
the havoc they sustained in this to them novel species 
of warfare, retreated. Among the slain were eight of 
their principal chiefs. On the side of the Spaniards 
the loss was inconsiderable. 

Thinking that this experience of the prowess of the 
Spaniards might have wrought a change in the dispo- 
sition of the Tlascalans towards him, Cortes now de- 
termined to send an embassy to their camp with over- 
tures of peace. The proposals were promptly reject- 
ed, and a message of defiance was returned from the 
Tlascalan general. The next, day another battle fol- 
lowed, the odds being even greater than in the former 
engagement ; but Spanish prowess, aided by dissen- 
sions in the Tlascalan camp, again proved victorious. 

The Tlascalans, thus repulsed, were assured by their 
priests, that their enemies, being children of the sun, 
received strength from his beams by day, and there- 
fore must be attacked in the night ; and that, being with- 
drawn from his rays, their vigor declined, and they 
laded and became like other men. A renewed trial, 
however, proved the falsity of this assertion, and, 
after desperate efforts against the invading foe, the 
Tlascalans were compelled to sue for peace. A treaty 
of alliance was formed for mutual protection, and 
Cortes and his troops were received, as bei:igs of a 
superior order, into the city of Tlascala. 


MEXICO, FROM THE ARRIVAL OF CORTES. 59 

After recrui ting himself for twenty days at Tlascala, 
during which time Cortes sought to gain all the infor- 
mation he cou .d respecting the condition of the Mexican 
empire, he prepared to resume his march. During his 
stay, the Tlascalans yielded readily to all his requests 
and commands, except the one by which they were re- 
quired to dethrone their own gods, and substitute the ob- 
jects of the Spaniards’ worship. Cortes, indignant at their 
refusal, was going to effect his object by force, had he 
not been restrained by the prudence of his chaplain, 
Olmedo, who represented to him the danger of such an 
attempt. The Tlascalans, therefore, were left to their 
own religious rites and objects of worship. 

Cortes, accompanied by 6,000 of them, now directed 
his course towards Cholula. This place was only six 
leagues distant from Tlascala, was formerly an inde- 
pendent state, and had been but lately subjected to the 
Mexican empire. It was considered by all the people 
around as a peculiarly holy place, the sanctuary or 
principal seat of their gods, to which pilgrimages were 
made, and in whose temple even more human victims 
were sacrificed than in that of Mexico. Montezuma pro- 
fessed now to be willing to receive Cortes in his capital. 
He had, however, laid a deep plot for the extermination 
of his enemies. They were to be received into Cholula 
under the mask of friendship, and, when not expecting 
it, a vigorous onset was to be made on them from every 
quarter, while, by means of pits dug, and barricades 
erected, and large collections of stones on the tops of 
the temples, their retreat would be cut off, and their 
ruin completed. Cortes was forewarned of the treach- 
ery, and took decisive measures to defeat the project 


60 MEXICO, FROM THE ARRIVAL OF CORTES. 

He arrested some of their chief priests, and thus ob* 
tained a confession of the meditated crime, drew up his 
troops, seized the magistrates and chief citizens, and, 
on a preconcerted signal, both the Spaniards and Tlas- 
calans poured upon the multitude, who were so amazed, 
that they were unable to offer any resistance*. The 
streets were filled with blood and carnage. The tem- 
ples were set on fire, and many of the priests and 
chiefs perished in the flames. More than 6,000 Cho- 
lulans are said to have fallen in the massacre, without 
the loss of a single Spaniard. The magistrates were 
then released, and commanded to recall the people, 
who had, in the mean time, fled in every direction. 
After so terrible a lesson, they dared not disobey the 
command of one who seemed to them of a character 
something more than human, and the city was soon 
filled again with those who yielded their service to 
the very men who had so mercilessly butchered their 
friends and relatives. 

Cholula was but twenty leagues from Mexico, and 
Cortes, on his march, was everywhere hailed as a de- 
liverer, who came to free the people from the op- 
pression of the Mexican yoke. Complaints were''made 
of Montezuma and his governors, and Cortes was en- 
couraged in the belief of the ultimate success of his 
enterprise against so mighty a monarchy. Without 
entering into the details of his march, it is enough to 
say, that, on crossing the Sierra of Ahualco, the valley 
of Mexico lay outstretched below, and the city, the 
object of his schemes, with its temples, and walls, and 
palaces, was in full view before him. 

While the Spanish adventurer became more bold as 


MEXICO, FROM THE ARRIVAL OF CORTES. 61 

he proceeded, the Mexican monarch, on the other hand, 
seems to have grown more irresolute and timid. The 
rapid march of the new enemy, the success which 
had crowned his arms, his sagacity in detecting the 
plans for his defeat, — all these things, combined with 
the traditions to which allusion has been made, seem 
to have withheld Montezuma from that wise and valiant 
course which might have been expected from the 
descendant of a long line of brave men. Had Mon- 
tezuma the First been in his place, as the adversary 
with whom Cortes was to contend, the result might 
nave been different. 

As the Spaniards approached Mexico, they were met 
by 1,000 persons of high rank adorned with plumes 
and clothed in fine cotton mantles. These saluted 
Cortes after the manner of their country, and an- 
nounced the approach of Montezuma. Next came 
two hundred persons dressed alike, with large plumes, 
marching two and two, in deep silence, and barefooted, 
with their eyes fixed on the ground. Then came a 
company of still higher rank in their most costly and 
splendid attire, in the midst of whom was Montezuma, 
borne on the shoulders of four of his principal favorites, 
while others supported a canopy of curious workman- 
ship above his head. Before him marched three offi- 
cers, bearing rods of gold, which they lifted up on high 
at certain intervals, as a signal for the people to bow 
and hide their faces, as unworthy to look on so glorious 
a monarch. As he drew near, Cortes dismounted, and 
resnectfully advanced to meet him. Montezuma like- 
wise alighted, the ground being covered with cotton 
cloths, and, leaning on the arm of an attendant, pro- 

• XI. — 6 



MONTEZUMA 



MEXICO, FROM THE ARRIVAL OF CORTES. 63 

ceeded at a slow pace. For the first time, the invader 
and the monarch stood face to face. They made their 
salutations, Cortes after the European fashion, and the 
Mexican by touching the earth with his hand, and kiss- 
ing it. This condescension in so mighty a monarch 
only tended to confirm his people in their belief, that 
the Spaniards belonged to a superior race ; and, as 
they passed along, these latter heard themselves often 
called Teules^ or gods. 

This interview had no decisive results. Montezuma 
conducted Cortes to the quarters he had prepared for 
him, being a palace built by his father ; he then left 
him, saying, “ You are now with your brothers, in 
your own house ; refresh yourself after your fatigue, 
and be happy till I return.” In the evening he re- 
turned, loaded with rich presents to all. Cortes was 
now informed that the Mexicans were convinced, from 
what they had seen and heard, that the Spaniards were 
the very persons predicted by the Mexican traditions, 
and therefore they were received, not as strangers, but 
as relations of the same blood and parentage. Monte- 
zuma also recognized him as entitled to command, and * 
assured him that he and his subjects would be ready 
to comply with his will and to anticipate his wishes. 
This impression Cortes sought to confirm still more, 
while at the same time he treated him with the respect 
due to the dignity of the sovereign. He had also a 
public audience with the monarch, and then spent 
three days in viewing the city. 

The city of Mexico was situated on a large plain 
surrounded by mountains, the moisture of which col- 
lected in several lakes. The two largest of these were 


64 MEXICO, FROM THE AIRIVAL OF CORTES. 

Sixty or seventy miles in circuit, and communicated 
with each other. Mexico was built, as has been before 
said, on some small islands in one of these lakes. The 
access to it was by causeways or dikes of stone and 
earth, forty feet broad. As the water overflowed the flat 
country, these causeways were somewhat long. That 
of Tacuba, on the west, extended a mile and a half ; 
that of Tepejacac, on the north, three miles ; and that 
of Iztapalapan on the south, seven miles. The east side 
of the city could only be approached by canoes. Each 
causeway had openings for the passage of the water, 
over which were thrown bridges of timber and earth. 
]\Iany of the buildings, as the temples, palaces, and 
houses of the rich and the nobles, were large ; but 
there was also a great number of poor huts. The 
great square, or market of Tlatelolco, was of vast ex- 
tent, and would hold 40,000 or 50,000 persons. The 
city contained 300,000 inhabitants, at least, and some 
writers assert that there were many more. 

The Spaniards soon began to feel uneasy, and to 
expect treachery on the part of Montezuma ; which 
‘suspicions seemed to be confirmed by the information, 
that two soldiers belonging to the garrison at Vera Cruz 
had been treacherously murdered by Quauhpopoca, a 
Mexican chief, governor of a neighbouring province, 
instigated, it was believed, by Montezuma ; and that, 
in an expedition subsequently undertaken by the com- 
mandant of the garrison for the purpose of avenging 
this act, this officer, with seven or eight soldiers, had 
been slain. One Spaniard had also been taken pris- 
oner, and his head cut off and carried in triumph 
through different cities, to show that the invaders were 


MEXICO, FKOM THE ARRIVAL OF CORTES. 65 

not invincible. The charm was now broken, and Cor- 
tes felt that nothing but the most desperate measures 
would save his enterprise from ruin. He therefore 
seized Montezuma in his palace, and hurried him 
away to the Spanish quarters. 

The manner in which this was effected shows the 
power he had gained over the monarch and his people. 
Admitted to his presence, the Mexicans having retired 
from respect, Cortes reproached the monarch with the 
conduct of Quauhpopoca, and demanded that Monte- 
zuma himself should become a hostage for the fulfil- 
ment of an order for his arrest. The haughty Mexi- 
can, surprised as he was, indignantly replied, that this 
was conh’ary to all custom, and that his subjects would 
never suffer such an affront to be offered to their sov- 
ereign ; but, seized with dread at the threatening lan- 
guage and gestures of one of the cavaliers who attended 
Cortes, he finally yielded to the daring invader of his 
kingdom and authority. Conducted to the Spanish 
quarters, he received his officers, and issued his orders, 
as usual, but was carefully watched by the Spaniards. 

Quauhpopoca, his son, and fifteen of his princi- 
pal officei's, were brought to the capital and de- 
livered up to the Spaniards, and, not denying their 
guilt, they were condemned to be .burnt alive. The 
Mexicans gazed in silence on these insults offered their 
monarch, who is said to have been even put in fetters 
by Cortes, as a punishment for his treachery. The 
daring adventurer had now so quelled the spirit of 
Montezuma, that he became himself t'le virtual sove- 
reign of the realm. He displaced and uppointed ofU- 
cers as he chose ; sent out Spaniards to survey tlie 

5 6 * 


66 MEXICO, FROM THE ARRIVAL OF CORTES. 

country, and selected stations for colonies, and ty va- 
rious means sought to prepare the minds of this un- 
fortunate people for the Spanish yoke. 

To secure the command of the lake, he excited the 
curiosity of Montezuma to see some of those moving 
palaces which could pass through the water withoui 
oars. Naval equipments were brought from Vera Cruz 
by the aid of the Mexicans, and others of them were 
employed in cutting down timber for the construction 
of two brigantines. Cortes still further urged on Mon- 
tezuma to own himself the vassal of the king of Cas- 
tile, and to pay him an annual tribute. With tears 
and groans, broken in spirit, the Mexican monarch 
obeyed the humiliating requisition, while th*e indig- 
nant people by their murmurs showed how deeply 
they felt the degradation inflicted on the empire. Im- 
mense treasures were lavished on the Spaniards, and, 
when Montezuma refused utterly to change his re- 
ligion, they became at last so daring, as to attempt to 
throw down the idols by force from the great temple. 
The priests then rallying to defend them, Cortes pru- 
dently desisted from his undertaking. 

This insult to their deities roused at last the spiri of 
the people, who had hitherto submitted to the exact: ons 
of their conquerors and the indignities heaped on them- 
selves and their monarch. They determined either to 
expel or destroy the Spaniards, and nothing but the 
captive condition of their monarch, and his danger 
prevented an outbreak. After many consultations be- 
tween Montezuma and his priests and officers, Cortes 
was decidedly told, that, as he had finished his em- 
bassy, i}.e gods had signified it as their desire, that he 


MEXICO, FROM THE ARRIVAL OF CORTES. 67 

and his band should leave the realm, or sudden de- 
struction would fall on them. Temporizing and affect- 
ing to comply, the wily Spaniard informed IMontezuma 
that he must have time to rebuild his vessels. To so 
reasonable a request no objection could be urged ; 
and Mexicans were sent to Vera Cruz to aid in the 
prosecution of this labor, while the Spanish carpenters 
were to superintend the work. 

In consequence of the arrival of an armament from 
Cuba against him, Cortes was forced to leave an offi- 
cer with 150 men at Mexico, and hasten towards Veia. 
Cruz. He met the advancing foe and defeated them, 
received the soldiery thus conquered into his own 
ranks, and hurried back again to the Mexican capital. 
During his absence, infuriated by a wanton massacre 
committed upon their nobles by the Spanish command- 
ant, Alvarado, the Mexicans had risen, attacked the 
garrison, killed and wounded some of the men, and 
burned the brigantines, so that the Spaniards, now 
closely invested in their own quarters, were threatened 
with famine or by the fury of the people, by whom 
they were continually attacked. On his return, Cortes 
found that the disaffection was widely spread, and he 
was welcomed by none of the towns on his route, ex- 
cept Tlascala. 

On his arrival in Mexico, Montezuma, who still re- 
mained a prisoner m the Spanish quarters, came to 
welcome him ; but Cortes received him so coldly that 
the emperor- soon retired. Earnestly desirous, how- 
ever, of vindicating himself from the imputation of 
having been accessory to the assault on the garrison, 
he soon after sent some of his attendants to solicit an 


68 MEXICO, FROM THE ARRIVAL OF CORTES. 

t/itervievv with the Spanish general. Irritated by the 
continued demonstrations of hostility on the part of the 
people, Cortes now threw off all restraint, and treated 
the message with the utmost contumely, exclaiming, 
‘‘ What have I to do with this dog of a king ? ” The 
nobles, swelling with indignation, withdrew. 

Meanwhile the people of the city were busily en 
gaged in preparing for a vigorous assault on the Span- 
ish quarters. Cortes had just despatched a messenger 
to Vera Cruz, to announce his safe arrival in the capi- 
tal, and his confident expectation of a speedy sub- 
mission on the part of the rebels, as he termed them, 
when suddenly the din of war rose on the air, and his 
messenger, who had been gone scarcely half an hour, 
returned in breathless haste with the intelligence that 
the city was all in arms. The appalling tidings were 
speedily confirmed, by the appearance of the furious 
populace rushing on through every avenue towards the 
fortress, as if determined to carry it by storm. The 
conflict was fierce and obstinate. Nothing daunted by 
the storm of iron hail poured in upon their defenceless 
bodies from the Spanish ordnance, which stretched 
them on the ground by hundreds, they pressed on up 
to the very muzzles of the guns. Repulsed on one 
quarter, they turned with undiminished fury to anoth- 
er, — striving, now, to scale the parapet, now to force 
the gates, and now to undermine or open a breach in 
the walls, — and finally endeavouring to fire the edi- 
fice by shooting burning arrows into it. - In this last 
they were partially successful ; but the approach of 
night at length caused them to retire. 

On the following day the Mexicans prepared to re- 


MEXICO, FROM THE ARRIVAL OF CORTES. 




new the attack ; but Cortes resolved to anticipate . by 
a sortie. Accordingly he sallied out at the head I'his 
cavalry, supported by the infantry and his Tlasca* :n al- 
lies. The Mexicans fled in disorder ; but soon rallying 
behind a barricade which they had thrown up across 
the street, they began to pour in volleys of missiles 
upon the Spaniards, which served in a degree to check 
their career. \\ ith the aid of his field pieces, however, 
Cortes speedily cleared away the barricade, when the 
Mexicans again turned and fled. But now, as the 
Spaniards continued to advance, the enemy had re- 
course to a new mode of annoyance. Mounting to the 
roofs of the houses, they hurled down large stones upon 
the heads of the cavaliers with a force which would 
often tumble them from their saddles. Unable to pro- 
tect themselves against this species of missiles, Cortes 
ordered the buildings to be set on fire, and in this 
manner several hundred houses were destroyed. The 
Spaniards were now victorious at every point ; at 
length, sated with slaughter, and perceiving that the 
day was beginning to decline, Cortes withdrew his 
troops to their quarters. 

The Mexicans, however, were determined to allow 
the hated strangers no rest. Although, conformably to 
the usage of their nation, they made no attempt to re- 
new the combat during the night, they nevertheless 
bivouacked around the fortress, and disturbed the slum- 
bers of their enemy by insulting taunts and mer' ees, 
which indicated but too clearly that their ferocity as 
in no degree subdued by the terrible havoc dealt oa'i 
to them during the tw’o preceding days. 

In the hope of influencing the Mexicans, Cortes now' 


70 MEXICO, FROM THE ARRIVAL OF CORTES. 

brought out Montezuma to command them to cease from 
hostilities. At the sight of their venerated sovereign 
in his royal robes, they dropped their weapons, and 
silently bowed their heads in prostration to the ground. 
Obeying Cortes’s directions, he addressed them, and 
plied them with arguments to urge them to peace. 
When he cedsed, sullen murmurs and indignant re- 
proaches ran through the ranks, and, in a rage, deem- 
ing their sovereign only the supple instrument of their 
foe, flights of arrows and volleys of stones were poured 
forth on the ramparts where he stood, so that, before 
he could be protected, Montezuma fell, wounded by 
the hand of one of his own subjects. Horror-struck, 
the Mexicans fled ; while Montezuma, disdaining to live 
after this degradation, died in the Spanish quarters. 

Cortes, knowing that affairs had arrived at the great- 
est extremity, now prepared for his retreat, which he 
was not, however, suffered to effect, till after long and 
bloody conflicts, in one of which his own life was en- 
dangered by the devotion of two young Mexicans, who 
seized on him and hurried him to the edge of the plat- 
form of the temple, intending to cast him and them- 
selves down, that they all might be dashed in pieces. 
Many of his soldiers were driven into the lake, and 
there perished ; others were killed, and others still were 
taken prisoners. He lost, it is said, more than half 
his army, escaping with only about 400 foot soldiers and 
twenty horsemen, with which force he broke through 
the multitudes by whom he was everywhere hemmed 
in. He lost also his artillery, baggage, and ammuni- 
tion ; besides 4,000 Tlascalans who were killed and 
taken prisoners, which latter the Mexicans sacrificed 
to their gods. 


MEXICO, FROM THE ARRIVAL OF CORTES. 7x 

% 

The retreat continued for six days, during which 
time Cortes and his soldiers were forced to feed on 
berries, roots, and stalks of green maize. On the 
seventh day, they reached Otumba, on the route from 
Mexico to Tlascala, the point towards which he was 
directing his course. The Mexicans, as he advanced, 
hung on his rear, exclaiming, exultingly, Go on, rob- 
bers ! go where you shall quickly meet the vengeance 
due to your crimes ! ” On reaching the summit of the 
mountain range, they understood too well the meaning 
of this threat ; for the whole wide plain below them 
in front was covered with a vast army, drawm up in 
battle array. The Mexicans, leaving the smaller por- 
tion of their force to pursue the flying enemy on one 
side of the lake, had gathered the main body of their 
army on the other side, and, marching forward, posted 
it in the plain of Otumba. 

Cortes, without a moment’s hesitation, lest the sight 
of such vast numbers might strike his troops with 
dismay, led them on to the charge ; and, notwithstand- 
ing the fortitude of the Mexicans, succeeded in pene- 
trating their dense battalions. But, as one quarter 
gave way, the Mexicans rallied on another, and con- 
tinued to pour upon the foe in such numbers, that, 
but for a fortunate event which turned the tide of 
battle, the Spaniards must have been overpowered 
from exhaustion. Cortes, availing himself of the 
knowledge which his stay at Mexico had enabled him 
to gain, directed his eflbrts against the quarter where 
the standard was carried before the Mexican general, 
assured, that, by the capture of this, he could throw the 
whole Mexican army into confusion. 


72 MEXICO, FROM THE ARRIVAL OF CORTES. 

The event justified his expectation ; for when, in 
spite of tlie resistance of the nobles, he killed the 
Mexican general, and seized on the standard, the 
whole Mexican army, panic-struck, threw down their 
weapons and fled to the mountains. The spoils of the 
field in some degree compensated the Spaniards for 
the losses they had sustained in their retreat from the 
capital. Pursuing their march without further molesta- 
tion from the enemy, they shortly afterwards reached 
Tlascala, 'where they were received with the greatest 
kindness by their faithful allies. Here Cortes remained, 
raising recruits, and forming new plans for the subju- 
gation of the empire. 

The Mexicans, on the death of Montezuma, had 
raised to the throne his brother, Cuitlahua, who showed 
himself worthy of the choice. After expelling Cortes 
from the capital, he repaired the fortifications, provided 
magazines, caused long spears to be made, headdd with 
the swords and daggers taken from the Spaniards, 
gathered the people from the provinces, and exhorted 
them to prove faithful. He also sent embassies to 
Tlascala, to persuade that people to break off their 
alliance with men who were the avowed enemies of 
the gods, and who would assuredly impose on them the 
yoke of bondage. It was no easy matter for Cortes to 
withstand the influence of such reasonable sugges- 
tions on the minds of the Tlascalans ; and had he not 
been on the spot, their fidelity might periiaps have wa- 
vered. 

But, while Cuitlahua was thus planning the de- 
fence of his kingdom, and performing the part of a 
wise and valiant prince, he was attacked by the small 


MEXICO, FROM THE ARRIVAL OF CORTES. 73 

pox, a disease introduced, it is said, by the Spaniards, 
and tell a victim to this scourge of the natives of the 
New W orld. He was succeeded by his nephew, Gua- 
temozin, a young man of great ability and valor. 

In the mean time, Cortes was busily employed in 
making arrangements for the renewal of operations 
against Mexico. Reinforcements of troops, arms, and 
ammunition came in from various quarters. The strong- 
holds on the Mexican frontier were reduced, and the 
people of the surrounding country, who had made 
demonstrations of hostility, were summarily chastised 
and subdued. Cortes likewise gave orders for the con- 
struction of thirteen brigantines at Tlascala, which, 
when finished, might be taken to pieces and transport- 
ed to Mexico, to be employed in the siege of the city. 

His arrangements being now completed, on the 24th 
of December, 1520, Cortes set forward on his march. 
On reentering the Mexican territories, he found that 
various preparations had been made to oppose him. 
He, however, forr.ed his way, and took possession of 
Tezcuco, the second city of the empire, situated on 
the lake about twenty miles from Mexico. Fixing his 
head-quarters here, he now occupied himself in the 
subjugation of the towns around bordering on the lake. 
By treating the inhabitants kindly, he won them to 
himself, and, as they had been originally independent, 
and were reduced by the Mexican power, he promised 
them a restoration to their former privileges, subject 
only to the sway of the king of Castile. In this man- 
ner, the Mexican monai and those who remained 
faithful to him became more and more limited in their 
resources, while Cortes was gaining additional strength. 

XX.— 7 


•74 MEXICO, FROM THE ARRIVAL OF CORTES. 

Hav»ng finally completed the preparation of the ma- 
terials for his brigantines, he sent a strong convoy to 
transport them to Tezcuco. The Tlascalans furnished 
him 8,000 tamanes^ or carriers, and appointed 15,000 
warriors to accompany the Spanish troops. The mate- 
rials were carried sixty miles across the mountains, 
and finally reached Tezcuco in safety. 

A new reinforcement of soldiers, with horses, bat- 
tering cannon, and ammunition, now also joined him 
from Hispaniola, whither he had sent to raise recruits. 
The brigantines were soon finished ; for the purpose 
of floating them into the lake, a canal, two miles long, 
was made by deepening a small rivulet, and amid 
shou^^, firing of cannon, and religious ceremonies, they 
were launched. , 

The force, destined for this final attack on Mexico, 
amounted to 86 horsemen and 818 foot-soldiers, of 
whom 118 were armed with muskets or crossbows; 
a train of artillery of three battering cannon, and fif- 
teen field pieces. Each brigantine was manned by 
twenty-five Spaniards, and bore one of th^ small can- 
non. These Cortes commanded in person. The points 
selected for the attack were, from Tepejacac on the 
north side of the lake, from Tacuba on the west, and 
Cojohuacan towards the south, corresponding to the 

cause wavs which have been heretofore mentioned. 

•/ 

By cutting off the aqueducts, the inhabitants were 
reduced to great distress ; and the efforts of the Mexi- 
cans to destroy the fleet were entirely unsuccessful. 

Cortes, now master of the lake, pushed on his attack 
from all points, broke down the barricades, forced his 
way over the trenches, and sought to penetrate into 


MEXICO, FFOM THE ARRIVAL OF CORTES. 75 

the heart of the city. The Mexicans, though losing 
ground every day, repaired the breaches by night, la- 
boring with incredible effort to recover their posts. 
With his small force, the Spaniard dared not attempt 
a lodgment where he might be hemmed in by num- 
bers, and thus defeated. Finally, however, his troops, 
by the most desperate assaults, penetrated into the 
city ; a success which was shortly turned into a disas- 
trous and nearly fatal defeat, in consequence of the 
commander of one of the divisions, Juan de Alderete, 
neglecting his instructions to fill up the canals and 
gaps in *the causeways, as he proceeded, in order to 
secure the means of retreat. 

Guatemozin, hearing of this, with great presence of 
mind, directed the Mexicans to retire, thus drawing 
forward the unwary Spaniards ; while chosen bodies 
of troops were judiciously posted in various places to 
act when needed. The Spaniards eagerly pressed 
on, till, at the signal, a stroke of the great drum 
in the temple of the war-god, the Mexicans poured 
upon them with the utmost fury, and driving them 
• on to the causeway, horsemen, foot, and Tlascalans 
plunged into the gap, and Cortes was unable to rally 
them. The rout became general, and he himself 
was wounded, and with difficulty saved from being led 
off captive by the Mexicans. Besides those who per- 
ished in the conflict, above sixty Spaniards fell into 
the hands cf the victors. These, as night drew *on, 
illuminated their city, and compelled their captives 
to dance before the image of the war-god. They then 
sacrificed them, their shrieks reaching the ears of their 
companions, who were unable to render them any 
assistance. 


76 MEXICO^ FROM THE ARRIVAL OF CORTES. 

The priests now declared their god to be so pro 
pitiated by the sacrifices which had been offered upon 
his altar, that in eight days their enemies should be 
destroyed, and peace and prosperity restored. The 
effect of this confident prediction was such, that the 
Indian allies of Cortes abandoned hirp, and even the 
Tlascalans, hitherto faithful, also deserted him. 

In this trying emergency, the Spaniards remained 
true to their commander. At length, the eight days, 
prescribed by the priests, having expired, and their pre- 
diction proving false, the superstitious allies of Cortes, 
believing that the gods, who had deceived the Mexi- 
cans, had abandoned them, returned. Cortes now 
prosecuted the siege with renewed vigor. The Mexi- 
cans, as before, disputed every inch of ground with in- 
credible bravery. Still Cortes gradually advanced his 
lines in various quarters, and, giving up his former 
cherished purpose of sparing the city, as fast as any 
portion was gained, it was levelled to the ground, and 
the materials were used for filling up the canals. 

This course hemmed in the Mexicans more and 
more closely. Famine and disease, loo, made their 
appearance in the devoted city. Their provisions were 
exhausted, and their supplies of water were cut off. 
Still, Guatemozin remained firm, rejecting all the over- 
tures of Cortes, and determined to die rather than to 
yield to the oppre.ssors of his country. At length the 
Spaniards penetrated to the great square in the centre 
of the city. Three quarters of the whole place were 
now in ruins ; and the remainder was so closely invest- 
cd, that it could not long hold out. 

The Mexicans finally prevailed upon Guatemozin to 


MEXICO, FROM THE ARRIVAL OF CORTES. 77 

attempt an escape to the remoter provinces, where he 
might still be able to carry on a struggle with the in- 
vaders. To deceive Cortes, they proposed terms of 
submission. The general, however, became aware of 
their object, and gave strict injunctions to his officers 
to watch every motion of the enemy. The com- 
mande." of one of the brigantines, perceiving at one 
time several canoes rowing across the lalce with the 
greatest rapidity, gave the signal to make chase. 
On being overtaken, and seeing preparations making 
to fire on one of the canoes, all the rowers dropped 
their oars, threw down their arms, and besought the 
officer commanding the brigantine not to fire, as their 
king was among them. 

Guatemozin immediately gave himself up, only re- 
questing that no insult might be offered to his wife and 
children. When brought before Cortes, the Mexican 
chief, with great dignity, said : ‘‘ I have done wha: 
became a monarch. I have defended my people to 
the last. I have nothing now to do but to die. Take 
this dagger,” laying his hand on one worn by Cortes, 
“ plant it in my breast, and put an end to a life which 
can no longer be useful.” 

• As soon as the capture of Guatemozin was known, 
all resistance ceased, and the city, as much of it, as 
remained, was taken possession of by the Spaniards. 
The Mexicans had endured the siege for near’y three 
months, during most of which time, attack and defence 
were carried on with almost uninterrupted effort. The 
fatal mistake of the Mexicans was in allowing Cortes 
a second lime to enter their city, when the officer he 
had left in charge was so hemmed in, that he and his 

7 * 


78 BIEXICO, FROM THE ARRIVAL OF CORTES. 

troops must soon have perished by famine. Still, the 
final conquest is, no doubt, in a great degree to be 
attributed to the great disparity of arms, and the wis- 
dom of Cortes in enlisting the superstition' of the 
Tlascalans and their enmity to the Mexicans on his 
side, and thus securing them as allies. 

Guatemozin, while a captive, bore his sufferings 
with dignity, and when subjected with one of his min- 
isters to torture, to make him reveal the place where 
his treasures were concealed, he said to his fellow- 
sufferer, who, overcome by anguish, was groaning 
aloud, — ‘‘ Am I, then, taking my pleasure, or enjoying 
a bath ? ” The favorite, stung by the reproach, 
suffered in silence till he expired. The royal victim 
was taken by Cortes from this scene of torture and 
indignity only to be subjected to further* sufferings. 

The extensive provinces of the empire readily sub- 
mitted, on learning the fall of the capital. Still, the 
Spaniards did not maintain their sway without effort. 
The Mexicans, from time to time, sought to assert 
their rights ; and their oppressors, considering them 
as slaves, punished them in the most ignominious and 
cruel manner. In Panuco, a part of the ancient em- 
pire, 400 nobles, who were concerned in an insurrec- 
tioft, were burned to death. On the mere suspicion 
of a design to shake off the yoke and excite his former 
subjects to revolt, Cortes ordered Guatemozin to be 
hung, together with the cacique of Tacuba. The poor 
inhabitants were everywhere reduced to bondage, and 
forced to live under the galling yoke of their op- 
pressors. The Spaniards revelled in the luxuries 
and splendors of this ancient empire, while the de- 


MEXICO, FROM THE ARRIVAL OF CORTES. 79 

scendants of kings and caciques were their vassals and 
slaves. 

The hardships the people endured, while following 
their conquerors in their various military expeditions, 
the attacks of disease, and other causes, swept off num- 
bers of the original population. After mining wiis 
introduced, they were driven to the mines to procure 
treasures for their oppressors. Some of them have - 
since intermarried with the whites, and thus a mixed 
race has been introduced. A portion have embraced 
the Roman Catholic religion, and have been indebted 
to the ecclesiastics for some amelioration of their suf- 
ferings. 

*At present, it is computed that of about - 8,000,000 
of inhabitants, of which the republic of Mexico is com- 
posed, nearly two fifths are of pure native blood. They 
are said to be grave and melancholy, having a taste 
for music, great talent for drawing, being skilful in 
modelling in wood or wax, and having a great passion 
for flowers. As a class, though gentle, they are poor 
and miserable, yet live to a great age, sometimes even 
to a hundred years. They are still much oppressed, and, 
though having the nominal rights of citizens, they are 
often kept as laborers for years against their will. By 
tempting their appetite, they are brought in debt, and 
then, when they have nothing to pay the creditor, he 
assumes the right of a master. They are allowed 
magistrates of their own race, but their caciques, de 
graded themselves, take every opportunity of oppres? 
ing those beneath them. 


THE EMPIRE OF THE INCAS. 


Not many years after llie conquest of Mexico, a 
similar enterprise was undertaken, which resulted in 

m 

the overthrow and subjugation of a people resembling 
the Mexicans, in their comparative advancement ui 
civilization, and in the extent and riches of their em- 
pire. Peru is situated on the western coast of South 
America, and the empire of its sovereigns then ex- 
tended, from north to south, above 1,500' miles on the 
Pacific Ocean. Its breadth was limited by the range 
of the mighty Andes, and therefore varied in different 
parts of its extent. This vast territory was originally 
peopled by independent tribes, characterized by diffei*- 
ent manners and forms of policy. According to the 
Peruvian traditions, their modes of life were not superior 
to those of the most uncivilized savages. They roamed 
naked through the forests, without any fixed habitations 
living more like wild beasts than men. 

F'or several ages, the tradition declares that they 
made little or no advances towards improvement, en- 
during hardships and privations of all kinds, till there 
suddenly appeared, on the banks of the Lake Titicaca, 
a man and womaM of majestic form, and clothed in 


THE EMPIRE OF THE INCAS. 


81 


decent garments. These persons called themselves 
Children of the Sun, and asserted that they were sent 
by that benignant deity to instruct those who were the 
objects of his pity, and thus to improve their condition 
and render them happier. The names of these per- 
sons, as given, were Manco Capac and Mama Cello. 
The motives they addressed to the poor savages, to 
induce them to quit their barbarous mode of life, seem 
to have been effectual, and, by their persuasions, these 
scattered people were some of them united together, 
and obeying the supposed divine mandate, they fol- 
lowed the strangers to Cuzco, where they settled, and 
commenced the building of a city. 

These extraordinary individuals thus laid the foun- 
dation of the great empire, over which their descendants 
afterwards reigned for several generations. Manco 
Capac taught the men how to till the ground, and va- 
rious arts by which their comforts might be increased, 
while Mama Cello, at the same time,* showed the 
women ho\v to weave and spin. Having thus con- 
vinced them of their interest in their welfare, and pro- 
vided them with food, clothing, and suitable abodes, 
Manco Capac enacted various laws, and introduced 
different institutions, by wdiich the people might be ce- 
mented together as a nation of established character. 
He prescribed to them such regulations as might gov- 
ern them both in public and private life ; defined the 
relations f)f all, and constituted such offices, and ap- 
pointed such persons to fill them, as comported with his 
design of founding a perpetual and well governed state. 

This new kingdom was called the Empire of the 
hicas. At first, the territory of Manco Capac did not 

6 


82 


THE EMPIRE OF THE INCAS, 


extend more than twenty or thirty miles round Cuzco. 
He exercised, however, absolute authority, to which 
the people rendered a willing obedience. His memo- 
ry was not merely cherished in after ages as the 
founder of their nation, but as a true benefactor. If 
this tradition be admitted to be founded on the truth, 
it forms an interesting subject of inquiry, who these 
extraordinary personages were, and from what part of 
the world they probably came.* 

The successors of Manco Capac followed his ex- 
ample, gradually extending their dominions, and, with 
this enlargement of territory, rendering their authority 
yet more and more absolute. In time, they were re- 
garded, not only as sovereigns and descendants of 
the founder of the empire, but they were adored as 
divinities. Their blood was considered sacred, and by 
forbidding their posterity to intermarry with the people 
they continued to preserve their own race and rank 
• pure from all others. This peculiar family, thus set 
apart as a royal or noble race, were also distinguished 
from all the rest of the nation by a certain garb and 
ornaments, which it was unlawful for any of the lower 
ranks to assume. The monarch himself appeared with 
the ensigns which he alone might wear, and was ever 
received by his subjects with a deferential homage 
scarcely short of adoration. 

The character of the people was very different from 

* In the “ Lives of Famous Indians,” we have offered a few 
suggestions on this subject. If the reader perceives some repe- 
tition of facts in tliis article, to be found in that just mentioned, 
he will consider that it is a part of our design to render each 
volume of the “ Cabinet Library,” complete in itself. 


THE EMPIRE OF THE INCAS. 


83 


that of the Mexicans, for while these latter, as we have 
seen, were warlike and ferocious, engaged almost con- 
stantly in bloody wars, and preserving cruel rites, the 
Peruvians or Quichuas, as they were also termed, were 
united in a peaceful subjection to a milder superstition. 
The Mexicans pushed forward their conquests by their 
valor, and, by force of arms, subdued those who op- 
posed them ; but the Peruvian Incas, in the capacity of 
legislators and benefactors, extended their sway, and 
induced numerous tribes to submit to them, and learn 
the arts and comforts of peace and good government. 
Not one, it is said, out of twelve monarchs, descendants 
of Manco Capac, varied from this character. 

The empire, by degrees, became one of great ex- 
tent, comprehending not only all that which is now 
called Peru, but also Ecuador, which is still covered with 
vhe monuments of the Incas. In this vast region, the 
most perfect order reigned ; the fields were tilled ; the 
rivers were employed in irrigating the soil ; mountains 
were formed into terraces ; canals were prepaied, 
means being taken to preserve the water in its pas- 
sage ; and many large tracts, before mere deserts, 
were thus rendered productive, if not fertile. As a 
means of communication for the convenience of the 
people, a national road was constructed, with great la- 
bor, from Quito to Cuzco, 1,500 miles in length. This 
was a surprising work of art. It was not designed, in- 
deed, for carriages, for no such vehicles were in use 
among the Peruvians, but for a great thoroughfare from 
one end of tbs empire to the other. Numerous flying 
bridges were thrown across the deep ravines, which 
often interposed obstacles to the progress of the work 
' that >*equired skill and patient industry to overcome. 


84 


THE EMPIRE OF THE INCAS. 


T\ie structures, too, of stone, either temples (,<r pal- 
aces, were composed of immense blocks, inclosing vast 
spaces, and divided into numerous apartments, one of 
which at Caxamalca is said to have been capo.ble of 
containing 5,000 men. Instead of the hieroglyphics, 
by which the Mexicans preserved the records of their 
nation, and conveyed from one to another the knowl- 
edge of passing events, the Peruvians used the quipos^ 
or strings, which, by their colors, knots, &c., repre- 
sented different parts of the record they wished to pre- 
serve. Vast treasures were accumulated by the Incas, 
from the rich silver mines in their dominions, and when 
they died, many of their vessels and other portions of 
their wealth were buried in the grave with them. 

When the Spaniards fii^st visited Peru, in 1526, the 
twelfth monarch, named Huayna Capac, was on the 
throne. He is said to have been a great prince, as 
much distinguished by his wisdom and benevolence as 
for his martial talents. He subdued Quito, and thus 
added to his dominions a country nearly as large in 
extent and resources as his ovvn. This city became 
another capital of his realm, and here he often lesided. 
Contrary to the law, which forbade the intermarriage 
of the Incas witli others than their own mce, he wedded 
a daughter of the King of Quito. Pie died in the 
year 1529, leaving Atahualpa, his son by the princess 
of Quito, heir to that kingdom. The rest of his do- 
minions he left to Huascar, liis eldest son by another 
wife of the race of the Incas. 

Tliis procedure was so contrary to all the laws and 
usages of the empire, that the Peruvians, though they 
revered in the highest degree their deceased monarch. 


THE EMPIRE OF THE INCAS. 


85 


who had added such lustre to his reign, could not 
contentedly submit to the division of the empire. They 
urged on Huascar, therefore, to require his brother 
to renounce his claim to the government of Quito, and 
acknowledge him as his liege lord. Atahualpa, how- 
ever, had already gained a large body of Peruvian 
troops, who had followed his father to Quito, and who 
were the best portion of the army. He therefore not 
only refused to comply with his brother’s demand, but 
marched against him with a chosen army. A civil 
war ensued, Atahualpa, being superior in force, tri- 
umphed over Huascar, the rightful monarch ; and, con- 
.scious that he was only partially descended from the 
Incas, he sought to confirm himself by utterly extermi- 
nating all the children of the sun, or the descendants 
of Manco Capac. To establish yet further his own 
authority, he kept his brother alive, in whose name he 
issued his own orders to the various parts of the empire. 

The effect of this civil war was most disastrous to 
this hitherto prosperous empire. It rent it asunder at 
the very time when a crafty foe was preparing its sub- 
jugation, and when the force of united counsels and 
efforts were needed for the safety of tTie nation. Plad 
the Spaniards entered Peru under the reign of Huayna 
Capac, they would have found a far different state of 
things, and possibly Peru might, for many succeeding 
years, have enjoyed prosperity under the sway of her 
ov/n beneficent monarchs, instead of being trampled 
under the foot of a foreign invader. 

When Pizarro, with Almagro and De Luque, first 
established a colony at the mouth of the River Piura, in 
1532, he had already acquired some knowledge of the 

XI. — B 


86 


THE EMPIRE OF THE INCAS. 


unnatural contest in which the brothers had been en- 
gaged. He had been advancing gradually, for three 
or four years, from Panama, till he had gained the 
veiy heart of the empire, without the contending 
parties apparently being aware that the commo'n ene- 
my was on his march for their ruin. Huascar, having 
finally learned of this event, sent messengers to Pi- 
zarro to entreat his aid against his usurping brother. 
The wily Spaniard at once saw the advantage he 
might derive from the intestine divisions of the empire, 
and hastened forward without waiting for the rein- 
forcements he was expecting from Panama. He be- 
gan his march from his new colony, called St. Michael, 
where he left a garrison, with only sixty-two horsemen 
and one hundred and two foot soldiers, of whom twenty 
were armed with cross-bows, and three with muskets. 
He marched for Caxamalca, a small toAvn at the dis- 
tance of twelve days’ march from St. Michael. Here 
Atahualpa was encamped with a considerable number 
of troops. While Pizarro was on his way, a messen- 
ger met him from that prince, offering his alliance, and 
an assurance of his friendly reception at Caxamalca. 
Pizarro, seizing upon the occasion, returned answer 
that he came from a powerful monarch, with the de- 
sign of offering his aid to Atahualpa to sustain him 
against those who disputed his right to the throne. 

The Peruvians were utterly at a loss how to account 
for the sudden appearance of the Spaniards. They 
viewei them as superior beings, but, as was the case 
with .he inhabitants of Cholula, in respect to Cortes, 
they could not decide whether they were to be regard- 
ed as possessed of beneficent or cruel intentions. The 


THE EMPIRE OF THE INCAS. 


87 


conduct of the Spaniards did not apparently agree with 
their professions ; for while they declared that their 
o])ject was to enlighten the natives in the truth, ^d 
render them more happy, they were often guilty of 
flagrant outrage and cruelty. The Inca, however, sat- 
isfied by the message of Pizarro, was prepared to re- 
j)ose unbounded confidence in his expected visiter. 
The Spaniards were allowed to cross the desert, where 
they might have been easily checked on their march, 
and to pass in safety through the defiles of the moun- 
tains, which were so narrow and difficult of entrance, 
that a few men might have maintained their ground 
against a large force. They also took possession of a 
fortress erected there for the defence of the country, 
and then advanced to Caxamalca. 

As they approached, Atahualpa sent them messen- 
gers with more costly presents than before. Pizarro 
entered the city with his troops, and took possession of 
a large court, having on one side of it the palace of 
the Inca, and on the other a temple of the sun. 
Around the whole was a strong rampart, or wall of 
earth. Atahualpa was in his camp about three miles 
from the city. Messengers, therefore, were despatched 
immediately to him by Pizarro, with the same declara 
lions and assurances as before, to request an interview 
that he might in person more fully inform him respect- 
ing his design in visiting his empire. 

These messengers were astonished at the appear- 
ance of order and decency which reigned at the Peru- 
vian court, and still more at the display of gold and 
silver which everywhere met their view. They were 
received with the utmost cordiality, and hospitably en- 


88 


THE EMPIRE OF THE INCAS. 


tertalned. On their return to Pizarro, the account they 
gave of the splendor with which their eyes had been 
dazzled, led him to form the perfidious resolution of 
seizing the monarch, as Cortes had done Montezuma, 
in the very heart of his empire. Pie deliberately 
formed his plan, regardless of the character of ambas- 
sador which he had assumed, or of the confidence that 
Atahualpa reposed in his promises, and made all the 
requisite preparations for executing it at once. Di- 
viding his horsemen into three small squadrons or com- 
panies, he selected from his infantry twenty men of 
the most tried courage, whom he retained as his body- 
guard and to aid him in his attempt, while he posted 
his artillery and cross-bowmen opposite the avenue by 
which Atahualpa was to make his approach. 

Early on the morning of the 16th of November, 
Atahualpa made preparations for visiting the new 
comers. Desirous to impress on his visiters the strong- 
est sense of his greatness and splendor, the day was 
far advanced before the procession began its march, 
and so slow was its progress, that Pizarro finally be- 
came apprehensive lest the monarch had penetrated 
bis treacherous designs, and determined not to place 
himself within his reach. To quiet such fears, if any 
existed, the Spani ard sent him still another embassy to 
assure him of his friendship and kind intentions. Fi- 
nally the Inca made his appearance with the pomp of 
a mighty monarch. He was preceded by 400 men in 
a uniform dress, to prepare his way, and sitting on a 
throne adorned with beautiful plumes, almost covered 
with plates of gold and silver, and enriched with pre- 
cious stones, he was borne on the shoulders of a num- 


THE EMPIRE OF THE INCAS. 


89 


ber of his pi ncipal attendants. After him followed his 
chief officers, carried in a similar manner ; bands of 
singers and dancers also mingling in the procession, 
and troops to the number, it is said, of 30,000 men. 

The Spanish priest, Valverde, met him, on his ap- 
proach to Pizarro, with a crucifix in his hand, and, dis- 
coursing to him on various doctrines of the Catholic 
faith, demanded of him an acknowledgment of the 
Pope and the monarch of Castile as his spiritual and 
temporal liege lords, on penalty of war and vengeance. 
Atahualpa, even Avith the aid of interpretation, Avas 
unable to comprehend this harangue so entirely unex- 
pected to himself, and Avhen made acquainted with a 
portion of it, Avas most indignant at such an attack on 
* his rights as an independent ruler of his realm. He 
calmly replied, hoAvever, that he Avas possessed of his 
dominions by hereditary succession ; that no pope or 
priest could grant his realm to another Avithout his con- 
sent ; that he had no Avish to renounce the Avorship of 
his country’s god, the sun, to embrace that of the Span- 
iards. As for Avhat the priest had assured him of, he 
desired to knoAV Avhere these extraordinary matters 
were to be found. 

“ In this book,” replied Valverde, reaching out his 
breviary. The Inca, opening it, and turning over its 
leaves, applied it to his ear. “ This,” said he, “ is 
silent, it tells me nothing ” jand threAV it contemptuous- 
ly to the ground. The monk, roused to the utmost 
pitch of indignation, ran tOAvards the Spaniards, crying 
out, “To arms, to arms, Christians, the Avord of God is 
insulted ; avenge the profanation of these impious 
heathen dogs.” Pizarro, who had hitherto restrained 

R* 


90 


THE EM?IRE OF THE INCAS. 


his soldieiy, tliough inflamed with the desiie of plun- 
dering the wealth which met their view, noAV gave the 
signal of assault. The sound of the martial music, the 
roar of the cannon and musketry, with the charge of 
horse, and the impetuosity of the attack, all combined 
at once, thre w the Peruvians into confusion. They 
fled in dismay, without the slightest attempt at defence, 
while Pizarro, with his chosen band, at once pressed 
forward to the royal. seat, and piercing the crow’d of 
devoted nobles, who sacrificed themselves to protect 
him, seized on the Inca, dragged him to the ground, 
and led him off prisoner to the Spanish quarters. The 
flying troops were pursued with the most unrelenting 
fury and they continued to fall victims to their merci- 
less invaders till the day closed. More than 4,000 
‘ Peruvians are said to have perished ; not a single Span- 
iard was killed, and but one was wounded. 

The captive Inca was miserably dejected in spirit, 
though Pizarro affected to treat him with kindness 
and respect. Gradually becoming acquainted with 
the ruling passion of the invaders, he offered, on con- 
dition of his being liberated, to fill the room in which 
he was confined, which was twenty-two feet long and 
sixteen broad, with vessels of gold, as high as he 
could reach. Pizarro agreed to the proposal, and 
marked out the requisite height by a line on the walls. 
The Inca, accordingly, sent out orders for the ransonj 
to be gathered from Quito and Cuzco, where the great- 
est quantities of gold and silver were amassed in the 
temples. The commands of the monarch were re 
spected and obeyed, and persons were instantly em 
ployed in bringtig together the needed treasure 


91 


THE EMPIRE L i.^CAi* 

While this was going on, Pizorro received infcrn.ation 
of the approach of a reinforcement. This was a new 
source of alarm to the captive sovereign, especially as 
he also learned that some Spaniards had visited his 
brother Huascar in his prison, who had prolnised them, 
if they would" take his part, far greater wealth than 
Atahualpa had done. To prevent this, he determined 
tc have his brother put to death, and his commands to 
that effect were executed accordingly. 

The promised treasure was now collected, but Pi- 
zarro, with unexampled treachery, not only refused to 
release his prisoner, but determined to put him to 
death. To this he was instigated not only by the new- 
ly arrived Spaniards, but by an Indian, his interpreter, 
whom he had carried off some years before from be- 
yond Panama, and who had conceived a passion for 
one of the wives of Atahualpa. He also alarmed the 
Spaniard with accounts of forces assembling in various 
parts of the empire, and imputed these preparations 
for war, to the commands of the captive monarch. 
Atahualpa himself, by his own imprudence, brought 
about the fatal result. Attaching himself especially 
to Ferdinand Pizarro and De Soto, persons superior, 
both in birth and education, to Pizarro himself, and 
who treated him with kindness and attention, he be- 
gan gradually to regard Pizarro with contempt. He 
appears to have been a prince of no mean talents, 
and, observing the mode by which the Spaniards com- 
municated their thoughts to each other by writing, he 
greatly admired the art, but was at a loss to determine 
whether it was a natural or an acquired one. 

To satisfy himself on this point, he requested one 


92 


THE EMPIRE OF THE INCAS. 


of ihe soldiers to write the name of God on the nail of 
his thumb. This he showed to numbers of the S])an- 
iards, asking its meaning, and, to his astonishment, they 
all .told him the same kiing. At length, when Pizarro 
came, he put the question to him, and the illiterate ad- 
venturer, blushing with sliame, was compelled to ac- 
knowledge his ignorance. Ever after this, Atahualpa 
regarded the Spanish commander with a degree of 
contempt, and the consciousness of this fact, rankling 
in the breast of Pizarro, fixed his purpose of putting 
his royal captive to death. 

To give some color to his injustice, a species of trial 
was instituted. The monarch was arraigned on the 
charges of usurping the throne, of putting his brother 
and sovereign to death, of having commanded human 
sacrifices, of maintaining many concubines or wives, 
and having wasted treasures since his captivity which 
belonged to the Spaniards. Beside all these charges, 
he was accused of having excited his subjects to rebel- 
lion against his conquerors. On such accusations as 
these, before the self-constituted tribunal who had al- 
ready doomed their victim, the wretched Atahualpa was 
found guilty and condemned to be burned alive. Pie 
besought Pizarro to send him to Spain to be tried, and 
condemned, if he must be so, by a king. But this was 
no part of Pizarro’s plan, and he gave orders for his 
immediate execution. To save himself from the cruel 
death which was prepared for him, the miserable vic- 
tim of perfidy and cruelty asked to be baptized ; in 
consideration of which he was strangled at the stake, 
instead of being burned alive. 

A son of the murdered Inca was then proclaimed by 


THE EMPIRE OF THE INCAS. 


93 


Pizarro as monarch of Peru, in the hope that he might 
thus control the empire as he pleased. But the people 
of Cuzco and the country in that vicinity chose Marico 
Capac, a brother of Huascar, as the Inca, and rightful 
successor to the supreme authority. Civil wars at 
once followed, and the government was rent in pieces. 
Usurpers and aspirants sprung up in various parts of 
the realm, claiming independent power ; the general of 
the late sovereign at Quito, seized the brother and chil- 
dren of his master, put them to death, and claimed the 
throne for himself. 

These intestine divisions, as they weakened the Pe- 
ruvian power, prepared the way for Pizarro to advance 
to Cuzco. Several battles were fought, but the city 
was finally reached and taken without resistance. The 
son of Atahualpa died on the march, and the Peruvians 
seem generally to have admitted the claim of Manco 
Capac to the vacant throne. Quito also soon fell into 
the hands of another band of invaders, who were led on 
by the officer whom Pizarro had left as governor of St 
Michael. The Spaniards, however, found to their dis- 
appointment, that the city was stripped of its treasures, 
the people having carried them away. 

Once in possession of Peru, Pizarro devoted himself 
to the arranging of its districts, to the appointment of 
officers, the establishing of regulations for the admin' - 
tration of justice, the collection of revenue, and th? 
working of the mines. Here the Peruvians, the form-o 
masters, were driven as slaves to toil foi dieir oppres- 
sors. Multitudes of adventurers from Spain now flocked 
to the conquered country, and forming themselves into 
various small ban Is, each led by some adventurous offi- 


94 


THE EMPIRE v F THE INCAS. 


cer, they set forth for the invasion of different provinces 
of the empire, which were yet unsubdued. 

Manco Capac was not a .listless observer of these 
proceedings. Perceiving that but a few troops re- 
mained in Cuzco, where he :resided, jealously watched 
by the Spaniards, he secretly issued his commands for 
his subjects to assemble at a short distance from the 
capital, where he obtained leave to go to attend a solemn 
festival. As soon as he appeared, the banner was un- 
furled, and the war began.; All the warriors were 
gathered, and the whole country from Quito to Chili 
was soon in arms. Many of the Spaniards, scattered 
over the country, and not expecting such an attack, 
were cut off. An army, according to the Spanish writ- 
ers, of 200,000 men assaulted Cuzco, which was de- 
fended by only 170 Spaniards. At the same time, 
Pizarro’s new city of Lima was besieged, while he was 
obliged to remain within. All communication between 
the two cities was cut off ; and the besieged in either 
place were in utter ignorance of the fate of each other. 

The Inca commanded in person at Cuzco, and here 
it was that the Peruvians made their greatest efforts. 
For nine whole months, they carried on the siege, dis- 
playing great skill, and profiting by their observations 
on the discipline of their enemies. . To render their 
efforts yet more successful, they armed some of their 
most valiant men with the swords, spears, and bucklers 
which they had taken from the Spaniards whom thej 
had put to death throughout the country. Some even 
made trial of the Spanish muskets, and charged their 
foe, mounted on horses, and led by the Inca in person. 
In spite of the most active defence, Manco Capac 


THE EMPIRE OF THE INCAS. 


95 


gained possession Df one half of his capital, and proba- 
bly nothing but the sudd an appearance of Almagro’s 
troops saved the dispirited Spaniards from quitting 
Cuzco, or perishing in battle. 

The force of Almagro was regarded by both parties 
as the umpire of the contest, and both sought his aid. 
He and the Pizarros had been at variance, as the Peru- 
vians knew, and Manco Capac at first sought his friend- 
ship ; but at length, despairing of success in this way, 
he attacked him by surprise. This decided the ques- 
tion. The Peruvians unable to effect their purpose, 
were defeated with great slaughter, and their army was 
mostly dispersed. 

Soon after this, Pizarro, having dispersed the Peruvi- 
ans, who had held him shut up in Lima, and having 
received also reinforcements from Spain, advanced 
towards Cuzco. After fruitless negotiations, a terrible 
battle was fought between himself and his brothers, and 
Almagro, in which the latter was defeated f.nd put to 
death. The Peruvians who seem at first *o have re- 
solved to profit by the divisions of the Spaniards, 
instead of falling on the exhausted troops of the victors, 
as they should have done, retired quietly after \he bat- 
tle, perhaps more than ever impressed with a sense of 
the superiority of their discipline. This bloody engage- 
ment took place on the 26th of April, 1538. 

In the following ten or twelve years, there were a 
succession of contests for power between different par- 
ties of the Spaniards, during which time we lose sight 
of Manco Capac and the Peruvians, except that we 
know that these people, pressed by hard service, were 
rapidly wasting away. The representations of the be- 


96 


THE EMPIRE OF THE INCAS. 


nevolent Las Casas at length reached the Spanish 
monarch, and influenced him to avert some of the evils 
with which the natives were threatened, by the estab- 
lishment of a more firm and equitable government. 
This was finally accomplished by the wisdom of the 
viceroy, Pedro de la Gasca, after the entire defeat and 
death of the last of the Pizarros, who had rebelled 
against the hinge’s appointment, in 1549. This officer 
made regulations concerning the treatment of the In- 
dians, by which they might be protected from oppres- 
sion, and be instructed in the principles of religion. 
Still they were obliged to labor for the Spaniards, being 
attached to the land itself, and apportioned out to the 
various persons who owned the estates. 

Like almost all conquered and enslaved people, their 
numbers have lessened, while they have been subjected 
to the fluctuations of ages. They are now said to be 
feeble and depressed beyond any people of America, 
seeming scarcely capable of bold and manly exertion. 
Some whole districts, especially in the ancient kingdom 
of Quito, have continued to be occupied almost entirely 
by the Indians. In some places they exercise the me- 
chanic arts, and belong to the lower class of the popu- 
lation. Some of them have become converts to the 
Iboman Catholic priests ; while some still remember and 
reverence the institutions of their fathers, and some- 
times secretly assemble and engage in ancient idola- 
trous rites. 

Robertson computed the number of native Indians in 
Peru at the time he wrote to be 2,449,120. They are 
said to have small features, little feet, sleek, coarse, 
black hair, and scarcely any beard.” They have been 


THE EMPIRE OF THE INCAS. 


97 


represented as sunk in apathy and insensibility, but the 
shy, reserved, and gloomy, though tame aspect which 
they present, is the fruit of long oppression, and accu- 
mulated wrongs. They still retain the deepest and 
most mournful recollections of the Inca, and ce lebrate 
his death by^a sort of rude drama, accompanied by the 
most melting strains of music. 


THE ARAUCANIANS. 


The Araucanians inhabit the southern "'part of Chili, 
and derive their name from the province of Arauco. 
They are a nation enthusiastically attached to freedom, 
and pride themselves in the appellation of Auca^ which 
signifies free. They are muscular, robust, of great 
strength of constitution, and often attain the age of 90 or 
100 years. They are bold and warlike, and have ever 
been most determined foes to all the Spanish invaders 
of their native country ; and, by their warlike disposi- 
tion and fiery courage, have occasioned great trouble to 
the Spaniards ever since they became acquainted with 
them. All attempts to subjugate them to the sway of 
the Europeans have been unsuccessful. 

Their military system is greatly superior to that of 
the surrounding nations, and the degree of discipline 
they had gained enabled them to carry on long and 
bloody wars with the Spaniards who overrun Chili, in 
the early part of the sixteenth century. Their state 
was divided into four nearly equal portions, to whicl 
they gave the n«ime of the maritime country, the plain 
country, the c luntiy at the foot of the Andes^ and that 
of the Andes. Each of these great divsions was also 


THE ARAUCANIANS. 


99 


subdivided into five smaller ones, and each of tin se in 
turn into nine still less. These divisions of Araucania 
were existing previous to the arrival of the Spaniards. 

The government, which is aristocratic, is said to be a 
sort of state, in which there are three orders of nobil- 
ity, with gradations of rank, called the toqiiis, the 
asse-ulmenes^ and the ulmenes^ all of whom have their 
vassals. Each order has its badge, and the triple, power 
that constitutes the sovereign authority is vested in a 
general diet, or grand council, which is usually held in 
some large plain, where they feast and deliberate. 
The grand council elect a commander-in-chief to lead 
them in war, who may belong to the inferior ranks, if 
he is thought of greater ability than any one in the su- 
perior ranks. The Puelches, a hardy race of moun- 
taineers, formerly a distinct people, have been united 
with the Araucanians, under the same government, and 
this part of the nation are considered enitled to have 
the vice-toqui chosen from among them. 

The first account we have, which may properly be 
called the history of this people, is at the beginning of 
their wars with the Spaniards, in 1550. Their toqui 
was named Aillavila, and the Europeans having invaded 
the inhabitants of Penco, the Araucanians ordered that 
officer to march to their assistance at the head of 
4,000 men. He accordingly crossed the great River 
Biobio, the northern boundary of Araucania, and boldly 
offered battle to the Spaniards. Unlike the other In- 
dians, with whom the Spaniards had been engaged, the 
Araucanians were not disconcerted or terrified by the 
discharge of fire-arms, but fell at once on the front and 
flanks of the enemy who were thrown into confusion. 


100 


THE ARAUCANIANS. 


Valdivia, their general, had his horse killed under him, 
and was exposed to great danger, when the toqui re- 
ceived a mortal wound, in consequenee of which the 
Indians drew off in good order and unpursued by the 
Europeans. Valdivia, who had been in many battles 
both in Europe and America, declared that his life had 
never been in such great hazard in any of them as in 
this engagement. 

The next year, the Araucanians were again led on 
by their new toqui, Lincoyan, and the Spaniards, re- 
membering the former engagement, were inspired with 
sucli terror, that after confessing themselves, and re- 
ceiving the sacrament, they took shelter under the can- 
non of their fortifications. In liis first attack on these, 
Lincoyan was unsuccessful, and obliged to retreat, 
which the Spaniards ascribed to the immediate interpo- 
sition of St. James, their patron saint, who they affirmed 
was seen riding on a white horse, armed with a flaming 
sword, and striking terror into their enemies. The gov- 
ernor having received some reinforcements from Peru, 
after a year elapsed, resolved to attack them ; and, un- 
o|) posed by Lincoyan, he penetrated to the Cauten, by 
wliich Araucania is divided into two equal parts. Here 
lie built a city which he called Imperial, and also de 
s patched one of his officers to found another, called 
Villarica, on the Lauquen, 

Proceeding on, he traversed the whole of Araucania, 
from north to south, with but small loss, and finally 
arrived at the territory of the Cunches. Here he found 
a valiant nation, allies of the Araucanians, who were 
prepared to oppose his passage of the Calacalla. The 
Cunchese general, however, was induced to permit the 


THE ARAUCANIANS. 


101 


invaders to pass unmolested. Valdivia here founded 
another city, to which he gave his c wn name, and then, 
satisfied with his conquests, prepared to return, building 
fortresses and founding cities in various parts. Ercilla 
says that the Spaniards in this expedition had to fight 
many battles ; but the details are not given. 

To Lincoyan succeeded Caupolican, an account of 
whose exploits seems almost like the achievements of 
the heroes of romance. He was a brave warrior, and 
drove the Spaniards from several of the towns and. for- 
tresses which Valdivia had established. But these suc- 
cesses were succeeded by a severe reverse, and he w’as 
on the point of being defeated, when Lautaro, incited 
by patriotism, broke forth from the Spanish ranks, and 
led on his countrymen to victory. The whole Spanish 
army was destroyed except a few prisoners, and two 
Promaucians, their Indian allies. 

•After the death of Valdivia, who was put to death 
while pleading for his life, the Spaniards evacuated all 
the cities which the Spanish governor had founded, 
except two. These were immediately besieged by 
Caupolican, while Lautaro, now appointed lieutenant- 
general, or vice-toqui, fortified himself for the defence 
of the frontiers on the lofty mountains of Mariguena. 
The mountain being full of precipices and clefts, and 
covered on one side by impenetrable thickets presented 
only a single winding by-path, which led to the top of 
the mountain. Villagran, the successor of Valdivia, 
er gaged in battle with the young Lautaro, but, after 
a desperate fight, he was worsted, and compelled to 
retire. Believing it impossible to defend the city of 
Concepcion, he embarked a portion of the inhabitapts, 

9 * 


102 


THE ARAUCANIANS. 


consisting of old men, women, and children, on board 
of two ships, then in the harbour, while he led the 
remainder to Santiago. 

Lautai’D entered the deserted city, where he found a 
great booty, and after having plundered it, burned the 
houses, and razed the citadel to the ground, and re- 
turned in triumph to Arauco. Caupolican, howevei, 
was forced to raise the siege of Imperial and Valdivia, 
in consequence of the strong reinforcements which had 
been throwm into them by Villagran. While 'he was 
engaged in ravaging the country around Imperial, the 
small-pox, that destructive scourge of the natives, made 
its appearance, probably communicated by some Span- 
ish soldiers, and made terrible havoc, so that there were 
some districts almost depopulated. In one of these 
containing 12,000 inhabitants, it is asserted that not 
more than 100 persons escaped death. 

Villagran, availing himself of these circumstances, 
rebuilt Concepcion, which however was no sooner done 
than Lautaro recrossed the Biobio, and attacking the 
Spaniards whom he found in the open plain, put them 
to flight. He then entered the fort, killed great num- 
bers of the citizens, and once more plundered and burnt 
the city. Emboldened by this success, he resolved to 
carry the war still farther into the enemy’s country, and 
marched the distance of 500 miles, to Santiago, near 
which he encamped with his forces. The Spanish 
general here surprised and fell upon them, and cut them 
all to pieces, including the brave Lautaro, who fell in 
the 'outset. 

The Araucanians fought with the most determined 
bravery to the very lest, despising every offer of quar- 


THE ARAUCANIANS. 


103 


ter • thus the victoiy was dearly earned, with a great 
loss both of officers and men. This battle took place 
in the year 1556, and Lautaro, at his death, was only 
nineteen years of age. Probably, had he lived, the 
Spaniards might have been eventually driven, not only 
from Chili, but a large portion of Peru. Mis name is 
said to be still celebrated in their heroic songs, and his 
actions proposed as the most glorious example to their 
youth. The result of this disaster was, that Caupolican 
quitted the siege of Imperial, and returned to his own 
country. 

A succession of battles followed, in which the Arau- 
canians were generally defeated, and Caupolican him- 
self, being taken prisoner, was put to a cruel death by 
impalement. The Spanish general now advanced into 
the country, and reached the place where Valdivia, as 
related above, had been defeated and taken prisoner. 
Here he built a city, in contempt of the Araucanians, 
which he called Canete ; and,^considering the war now 
terminated, he gave 'orders for once more rebuilding 
Concepcion. 

In the year 1558, he marched against the Cunches. 
When this people first heard of the arrival of the stran- 
gers, they met to deliberate as to the best course for 
them tc take in this emergency; whether to submit or 
attempt resistance to an enemy flushed with victory. 
An Araucanian, present in their council, being invited to 
give his opinion, replied in the following language : 
“ Be cautious how you adopt either of these measures ; 
as vassals, you will be despised and compelled to labor ; 
as enemies, you will be exterminated. If you wish to 
free yourselves from these dangerous visiters, make 


104 


THE ARAUCANIANS. 


them believe you are miserably Door ; hide your prop- 
erty, particularly your gold ; they will not remain 
where they have no expectation of obtaining that sole 
object of their wishes ; send them such a present as 
will impress them with an idea of your poverty ; in the 
mean time, retire to tne woods.” 

This advice was approved, and the Araucaniari and 
nine of their own people were commissioned by the 
Cunches to carry the present recommended to the 
Spanish general. Accordingly, they clothed them- 
selves in rags, and, counterfeiting fear, appeared be- 
fore the Spaniard, and, after a rude address, presented 
him with a basket containing some roasted lizards and 
wild fruits. The Spanish soldiery could not refrain 
from laughter at the ridiculous appearance of these 
ambassadors, and begged their commander to go no 
farther; but he exhorted them to proceed, assuring 
them that he had heard of a country beyond, which 
abounded with metals. The wily Araucaniah, being 
requested to furnish a guide, gave* him one, who, by his 
direction, led the invaders by the most rugged and diffi- 
cult roads of the coast. 

The year 1559 was signalized by numerous battles 
fought between the two armies. The Araucanians 
were led by Caupolican the Second, tae son of the for- 
mer toqui of that name, whom he succeeded. He was, 
like his father, a man of distinguished talents, but was 
not equally prosperous in his early efforts in defending 
his country. At the battle of Quipeo, he lost nearly 
all his valiant officers, and, being pursued by a de- 
tachment of Spaniards, slew himself, to avoid being 
taken prisoner, as his father had been. 


THE AKAUCANIANS. 


106 


The Araucanians were not, however, utterl}^ disheart- 
ened ; but the few ulmenes who had escaped the defeat 
of Quipeo met in a wood, and elected as toqui an offi- 
cer of inferior rank, named Antiguenu, who had distin- 
guished himself in that battle. 

He, with a few soldiers, retired to the inaccessible 
marshes of Lumaco, where he caused high scaffolds to 
be erected to secure his men from the extreme moist- 
ture of the gloomy retreat he had chosen. The youth, 
who were from time to time enlisted, went there to be 
instructed, and the Araucanians still considered them- 
selves free and independent. 

Antiguenu besan soon to make incursions into the 
Spanish territory, to practise his troops, and feed 
them at the enemy’s expense. Grown bolder, he came . 
to an engagement with a son of Villagran, whom he 
defeated, and then marched against Canete ; but Villa- 
gran, feeling that its defence was impracticable, with- 
drew the inhabitants to Concepcion and Imperial. The 
Araucanians, finding the town deserted, set fire to it, and 
utterly consumed it. Villagran, affected by this loss, 
and worn down by care and anxiety, soon after died ; and 
Antiguenu, learning the fact, and having raised 4,000 
men, divided them into two parties ; with one of these 
he directed tlie vice-toqui to lay siege to Concepcion, 
while he marched with the other against Arauco. The 
siege was protracted, and the commanders decided 
upon settling the affair by single combat. After having 
fought two hours, they were separated by their men. 

The garrison, however, were at last compelled by 
famine to abandon the place, the houses were burned, 
and the walls demolished. In attempting the conquest 


106 


THE ARAUCANIANS. 


of another place, called Angol, Antiguenu, after the 
most brilliant feats of valor and courage, was forced 
along with a crowd of retreating soldiers, and failing 
from a high bank into the river, was drowned. 

His successor was Paillataru, the brother or cousin 
of Lautaro. In the year 1665, the fort of Arauco and 
tn3 city of Canete were rebuilt by the Spanish com- 
mander. The history of this remarkable people is 
henceforward a series of battles ; and, though they 
fought with various success, they never lost their in- 
domitable spirit, or their determination not to be brought 
into subjection to the Europeans. Observing the advan- 
tage obtained by cavalry, they early organized a body 
of horsemen, and in seventeen years after their first 
encounters with the Spaniards, were able to oppose 
them with cavalry on the field of battle. 

In 1589, while Guanoalca was toqui, the Spanish 
governor, believing that it would be impossible for him 
to defend the forts of Purea, Trinidad, and Espiritu 
Santo, which had been established, evacuated them ; 
and the war is said to have been reduced to the con- 
struction and demolition of fortifications. 

During the toquiate of Guanoalca, and his successors, 
Quintuguenu and Paillaeco, the Araucanians suffered a 
number of severe defeats. After the one last men- 
tioned, the Araucanians, unsubdued in courage, ap- 
pointed to the chief command a man named Paillania- 
chu, the hereditary toqui of the second district ; wlio, 
though advanced in years, is said to he ve been a per- 
son of wonderful activity. The tide of fortune seemed 
to turn at once in his favor, and his success was so 

great, that he is declared to have surpassed all his pre- 

% 


THE AR.AUCANIANS. 


107 


Oecessors in military glory, and was enabled to restore 
his country again to her full independence. 

In 1598, owing to his victories, not only the Arauca- 
nian provinces, but those of the Cunches and the Hu - 
illiches, were in arms, comprising the whole country 
io the Archipelag") of Chiloe. Every Spaniard found 
without the garrisons was put to death, and the cities of 
Osorno, Valdivia, Villarica, Imperial, Arauco, Canete, 
Angol, and Caya, Avere all closely besieged at one and 
the same lime. Paillamachu also crossed the Biobio, 
burned Concepcion and Chilian, laid waste the provin- 
ces dependent on them, and returned laden with spoils. 
He als(> forced the Spaniards to evacuate the fort and 
city of Arauco, and obliged the inhabitants to retire to 
Concepcion. 

In the month of November, 1599, he caused his 
army to cross the broad river .Valdivia, by swimming, 
stormed the city, burned the houses, and killed a great 
number of inhabitants. He attacked the vessels that 
lay at anchor, which only escaped by immediately set- 
ting sail, and then returned in triumph to the guard he 
had stationed on the Biobio, with a spoil of 2,000,000 
of dollars, all the cannon, and upwards of 400 pris- 
oners. 

Villarica also, after a siege of two years and eleven 
months, fell into the hands of the Araucanians in the 
year 1602, and the city of Imperial shared the same 
fate. Indeed, all the Spanish settlements in the coun- 
try were destroyed, which Valdivia and his successors 
had established, and preserved at the expense of so 
much toil and blood, and they remained unbuilt, 
scarcely a« vestige of their ruins being left. 


108 


THE aRAUCANIANS. 


The prisoners were numerous ; the unmarried fe« 
males were taken into the seraglios of their conquerors, 
while the unmarried men were allow^ed to espouse the 
women of the country. From these mixed marriages, 
it is said, have proceeded the Mestizos, who became, in 
subsequent wars, the most terrible enemies of the 
Spanish name. Some of the prisoners were ransomed 
by their friends or exchanged ; though many were 
induced, from love to their children, to remain with their 
captors. 

Paillamachu died soon after, at the close of the year 
1603, and was succeeded by Hunecura. The disasters 
experienced by the Spaniards were severely felt, and 
the court of vSpain gave orders that there should be 
constantly maintained a body of 3,000 regular troops 
on the Araucanian frontier, for wliose support the sum 
of 292,279 dollars w^as annually drawn from the treas- 
ury of Peru. 

A Jesuit, named Luis Valdivia, desirous of preaching 
to the Araucanians, and perceiving how utterly impos- 
sible any such attempt would be while war was carried 
on, went to Spain, and represented to the then reigning 
king, Philip the Third, the great injury done to the 
cause of religion by these continued wars. The prince 
listened to his representations, and directed that the 
River Biobio should be fixed as the boundary line be- 
tween the contending parties. The articles of peace 
had been discussed and agreed upon, when the whole 
was frustrated by an untoward event. The toqui, whose 
name was Ancanamon, liad espoused a Spanish woman, 
who, taking advantage of his absence, fled for refuge to 
the governor, accompanied by her children and four 


THE ARAUCANIANS. 


109 


other women, whom she had likewise persuaded to be- 
come Christians ; two of these were the wives, and two 
the daughters of her husband. The toqui, exasperated 
to the highest degree, met the missionaries who were 
sent to the Araucanians, and put them all to death. 

The Spanish provinces were incessantly harassed, 
and in 1617, the war is said to have commenced with 
redoubled fury. During the period which intervened 
from this to 1637, the toquis Lein tor and Putapichion 
also held sway, and engaged in enterprises against 
the Spaniards. Affairs, however, were not materially 
changed ; the Araucanians still retaining their territory 
and independence. In the year 1638, the Dutch at- 
tempted to form an alliance with the Araucanians, with 
a view to the conquest of Chili ; but their fleet being 
dispersed by a storm, only one or two of their boats 
were able to make the land. Being w^ell manned and 
armed, the Araucanians supposed them to have come 
with hostile intentions ; they therefore attacked them 
and destroyed the crews. In 1640, the war was brought 
to a close," and in 1641, the articles of peace were 
agreed upon, and the day of ratification appointed ; 
the place of meeting was the village of Quillan, in the 
province of Purea. 

The Spanish governor, the Marquis de Baydes, ap- 
peared at the specified time with a retinue of 10,000 
persons from all parts of the kingdom. Lincopichion, 
the toqui, at the head of the four hereditary toquis, and 
a great number of ulmenes, and other natives, opened 
the conference with an eloquent speech. Pie then, ac- 
cording to the Chilian custom, killed a llama, and, 

sprinkling some of the blood on' a bunch of cinnamon, 

XI. — 10 


110 


THE ARAUCANTANS. 


presented it, in -token of amity, to the governor. The 
articles of peace were then proposed and ratified. The 
Araucanians, in one of these, agreed that they would 
not permit the landing of any strangers on the coast, or 
furnish any foreign nation with supplies. The war of 
ninety years’ duration was thus brought to a close ; 
twenty-eight llamas were sacrificed, and the whole 
w*as concluded by an eloquent harangue from Anti- 
guenu, chief of the district, in which he dwelt on the 
advantages that both nations v/ould derive from the 
peace. 

In the year 1643, the Dutch made a second attempt 
on Chili, and had they been seconded by the Arauca- 
nians, whose alliance they sought, they would undoubt- 
edly have succeeded ; but these brave defenders of 
their country were faithful to their pledges, and refused 
the overtures of the Dutch. They also advised the 
Cunches to take the same course. The Dutch, there? 
fore, were forced to retire unsuccessful. 

The peace continued for a number of years ; a war 
broke out in 1653, the cause of which is not assigned. 
The Araucanians elected as their commander the toqui 
Eleutaru, who in his first campaign totally defeated the 
Spaniards, and continued for ten years to harass them, 
when a peace was again concluded, which proved 
more lasting than the former. In 1686, however, a 
Spanish governor came near breaking it by removing 
the inhabitants of the island of Mocha to the northern 
shore of the Biobio, in order to cut off all communi- 
cation with foreign enemies. 

Missionaries in the mean time were introduced among 
the Araucanians, accompanied by a species of force 


THE ARAUCANIANS. 


Ill 


called the Caj)tains of the friends^ as a pretended 
guard. These having become insolent, the Arauca- 
nians determined to create a toqui, and resort to arms. 
War therefore ensued, but after a succession of little 
skirmishes, the peace of Negrete terminated it. In 
this, the treaty of Quillan was confirmed, and the odi- 
ous title of Captains of the friends was abolished. 

The next occasion of war was caused by the en- 
deavour of the Spanish governor, Gonzaga, to compel 
the Araucanians to live in cities. At this time also, the 
Pehuenches, who at the commencement of the war were 
allies of the Spaniards, having been defeated by the 
Araucanians, resolved to change sides, and have ever 
since been firmly allied with this brave people. Vari- 
ous battles were fought, and among others, a bloody one 
in the beginning of the year 1773. The same year, 
however, peace was agreed upon, and the Araucanians 
were allowed to have a minister resident in the city of 
St. Jago. The treaties of Quillan and Negrete v/ere 
revived, and, under the wise administration of the Span- 
ish viceroys, Jauqui and Benavides, the country for a 
long-time enjoyed the blessings of unbroken tranquillity. 

The Araucanians have thus by their courage and 
perseverance been enabled to maintain their liberties 
against some of the best disciplined troops of Spain, 
even those who had served in the Low Countries during 

O 

the reigns of Charles the Fifth and Philip the Second, 
and who were armed with weapons before unknown and 
calculated to strike terror into all the native tribes. 
They remain still secure in their mountain fastnesses, 
enjoying the blessings of liberty, and determined as 
ever never to be subjugated by any foreign foe. 


SOUTHERN INDIANS OF SOUTH 

AMERICA. 


The whole interior of the southern portion of South 
America, from Terra del Fuego up to Paraguay, was 
long occupied by numerous savage tribes of Indians. 
Of these little was known till long after the occupation 
of portions of the country by the Spaniards. They 
soon obtained horses, and were divided by the Euro- 
peans irfto equestrian and pedestrian tribes. They were 
generally ferocious in their character, and engaged in 
almost perpetual wars with each other. The eques- 
trian tribes, especially, were accustomed to make long 
excursions for the purpose of plunder or revenge. 
Many of these nations have since been swept off by 
that dreadful scoiurge of the Indian race, the small-pox, 
and many have been driven still farther back by the 
Europeans. 

Our knowledge of their history, which is, indeed, but 
scanty, is derived from the accounts furnished by the 
Catholic missionaries, who labored long and with some 
degree of success among them.* The views they give 

* For an account of the operations of the missionaries in Par- 
aguay, see “ Lights and Shadows of American History.” 


SOUTHERN INDIANS OF SOUTH AMERICA. 113 


of their manners and customs are often* interesting. 
The vast plains or pampas which lie southwest of 
Buenos Ayres, were inhabited by the equestrian sav- 
ages, who, with the Araucanians, and other tribes which 
dwelt in the mountains, were termed by the Peruvians, 
Aucas, or rebels, probably from some event in their 
former history. It would seem, indeed, that several 
of the tribes originally came from the northwest, and 
perhaps there gained the knowledge of horsemanship, 
in which they are so expert, from the earlier European 
invaders. 

Similar groups of Indians w’ere found through all 
that vast tract of land east of the Andes, and reaching 
up from Buenos Ayres to Brazil. Of these, perhaps, 
the most distinguished were the Abipones and Guara- 
nies, who inhabited what formerly bore the name of 
Paraguay, — now Paraguay and Uruguay. Dobrizhof- 
fer, a German Catholic priest, who resided many years 
among them, has given a full description of the most 
remarkable events of their history which occurred 
while he was with them, from which we extract a few 
scattered notices, adding some facts gathered from 
other sources. 

Formerly these tribes seem to have been numerous 
but now they are dwindled away to a small remnant 
Some idea may be formed of their decrease, when h 
is stated that -the Guaranies, who in 1752 numbered 
141,252, lost 30,000 soon after by the small-pox, and 
afterwards, 11,000 more. In 1767, there were only 
about 100,000 left. They suffered great oppression 
from the Spaniards, and, though they fought bravely to 


* See “ Manners and Customs of the American Indians.” 
8 10 * 


114 SOUTHEHN INDIATsS OF SOUTH AMERICA. 

avoid expulsion from their native land, they were 
finally driven out. Thirty thousand, it is said, were 
expelled by the Spaniards from seven towns. 

The zealous missionaries penetrated the forests, and 
visited the most barbarous tribes. They were often 
unexpectedly received with kindness and hospitality, 
where they least had reason to hope for it. In one 
of these visits, when one of the missionaries, or 
fathers, went among them, and had gained their 
favor, the old cacique said that he had a daughter, the 
prettiest girl in the world, and was resolved t6 marry 
her to the father, that he might always stay in the 
family. On being informed that the fathers never mar- 
ried, the old man was thunderstruck, and, with his to- 
bacco reed suspended in the air, he exclaimed, “ What 
strange thing is this you tell me ? ” 

The Indians watched, with great jealousy, the intru- 
sion of the Spaniards on their territory. Some of them, 
on a certain occasion, having sent out men into the 
forest to gather mate^ or Paraguay tea, by some mis- 
fortune their hut caught fire, and eighteen of them 
perished in the flames. The Indians beheld ihe con- 
flagration at a distance ; finally, one of them, armed 
with arrows and a club, stole into the only remaining 
Spanish hut, where a single man had taken refuge. 
“ So,” said the savage, with a stern aspect, you 1 ave 
dared to enter these woods which were never yours. 
Knov' you not this is our soil, left us by our fathers } 
Are you not content with having usurped immense 
tracts and innumerable woods, in spite of the opposition 
of our fathers ? Should any one of us invade your 
domains would he return alive } No ; and we will 


SOUTHERN INDIANS OF SOUTH AMERICA. 115 


imitate your example. If, then, you are wise, if life 
is dear to you, haste away, and advise your countrymen 
carefully to shun our woods, .unless they would be the 
cause of their own death.” The Spaniard, to save 
his life, offered knives, axes, garments, and other 
trifles ; pacified by these gifts, the savage returned to 
his comrades. The former, deeming any further 
stay perilous, ran off, leaving many thousand pounds 
of the mate which had been gathered. 

The Guaycuras or Albayas were very expert horse- 
men, and were in the highest degree hostile to the 
Spaniards ; they were brave, and exceedingly skilful in 
the use of their arms. The Calchaquis, also, were for 
merly famous for their military ferocity, and their ir 
reconcilable enmity to the Europeans. A branch of 
the Guaranies were said to wander over the remote 
forests, on the banks of one of the rivers of the interior, 
and leap from tree to tree like monkeys, in search of 
honey and little birds. The Guaranies were noted for 
their voracity. After fasting a few hours, it is said 
that one of them would devour a young calf. These In- 
dians were accustomed, before they lay down to sleep, 
to place a piece of meat before the fire, that it might 
be ready for them to eat immediately upon waking. 

The havoc made by the Europeans among this 
tribe, as well as other Indians, especially those ne<. r 
Brazil, is almost incredible. It is supposed, that, 
in 130 years, 2,000,000 Indians were slain, or car- 
ried into captivity ; and it is stated, that, in five years, 
300,000 Paraguayans were carried off to Brazil ; and 
that more than 1,000 leagues of country, extending as 
far as the Rher Amazon, were stripped of their innab' 


116 SOUTHERN INDIANS OF SOUTH AMERICA. 

itants. In the years 1628- 1630, 600,000 Indians were 
sold as slaves at Rio Janeiro. Upwards of 400 Indian 
towns were utterly destroyed, and such was the devas- 
tation, that King Joseph was obliged to make a decree, 
on the 6th of July, 1755, forbidding further ravages. 
This, however, is but a small part of the evils which 
the Spaniards and Portuguese inflicted on those unhap- 
py regions. 

Among the equestrian tribes, the horse was the great 
dependence of the Indians for various comforts. He 
supplied them with food, clothes, lodging, bed, arms, 
medicine, and thread. Of the hides they made their 
couch, clothing, boots, tents, saddles, and thongs which 
served for bridle and weapons. The sinews they used 
for thread. They drank melted horse-fat, washed their 
heads with the blood, and afterwards with water, to 
strengthen them ; and twisted the hair into ropes. 
They were almost constantly on horseback, and their 
highest delight was to display their peculiar ability to 
manage the most spirited animals. 

The Abipones, especially, were an extraordinary 
people, and almost realized in themselves the fabulous 
centaurs, — so completely did they seem identified with 
the horses they bestrode. No account of them is given 
in history before they settled in the province of Chaco 
in the sixteenth century. In the year 1641, they pos- 
sessed horses, and had become formidable to the Span- 
iards, with whom they carried on long and bloody wars. 
They first obtained horses, it is said, by stealing them 
from Santa Fe, and in the space of fifty years they car- 
ried off 100,000 of these animals from the estates of 
the Spaniards. Sometimes not less than 4,000 wero 


SOUTHERN INDIANS OF SOUTH AMERICA. 117 


taken in a single assault. They settled on the ter- 
ritory former.y possessed hy the Calchaquis, who had 
fallen victims to the small-pox. Here they formed al- 
liances with other equestrian nations, especially the 
Mocobios and Tobos, savage tribes, formidable on ac- 
count of their numbers and bravery. The confederates 
harassed the province of Asuncion for a long time, and 
also the colonies of St. Jago del Estero and Cordoba. 
Various expeditions were planned against them with 
various results ; but still they continued their incur- 
sions for plunder or revenge. Many battles and heroic 
actions are narrated by Dobrlzhoffer, who describes 
some of their -caciques as men of uncommon bravery, 
and as having manifested great ability in leading their 
people to war. 

The Abipones were divided into three classes, the 
Rickahes, who inhabited extensive plains, the Nakai- 
getergehes, who were fond of the lurking-places in the 
woods, and the Yaaucanigas, who were formerly a dis- 
tinct nation, and used a separate language. The Span- 
iards almost destroyed them, and the few who survived 
fled to the Abipones, with whom they became incor- 
porated. The Abipones, as also the other equestrian 
tribes of Chaco, boast themselves to be grandsons of 
the evil spirit. Their language and that of the Tobos 
and Mocobios, likewise equestrian Indians, is said to 
have a similarity that betrays a common origin ; the 
same appears to be the case with that of the Guaranies 
and Chiriguanas, though 500 miles apart from each other. 

Many fruitless efforts were for a long time made 
by the Jesuits to reduce the Abipones to submission to 
the kii 'g of Spain, and to convert them to the Catholic 


118 SOTJTHERN INDIANS OF SOUTH AMERICA. 

religion. But they prized their independence, and theif 
own wild Avay of living, too much to be willing to re- 
nounce-"them for the benefits which were promised 
in agricultural pursuits. At last, however, a colo- 
ny was founded for the Mocobios, the allies of the 
Abipones ; finally, the latter were induced to follow their 
example, and colonies were likewise established among 
them. The first of these was founded for the Abipones 
Rickahes. All the tribes, however, did not readily 
come into the project. A portion of them preferred to 
remain as they were. This brought on long and bloody 
contests among them. Those who remained wild in 
the woods often attacked the colonies, and carried off 
their cattle and other plunder. The Jesuits were also 
exposed to no little danger in some of these invasions. 
The Spaniards joined the Abipones, and finally sub- 
dued the Charruas, a fierce equestrian nation, whom 
they instructed and converted. The Jesuits carried 
on their labors for a long time among the colonies, 
whither they had induced the Abipones to remove, 
and many instances of strong attachment towards them 
were exhibited by the caciques or chiefs, whom they 
had instructed and baptized. Their efforts, however, 
were terminated by the breaking out of a war between 
the Spaniards and the Guaranies, in which the Abi- 
pones finally became engaged. The result of this was to 
disperse them again from their settlements, and many 
of them relapsed from their more civilized habits into 
those of savaue life. 

O 

k 

It is a remarkable fact in the histoiy of the Abi- 
pones, that they should have first learned the use of 
the horse from the Europeans, and afterwards have 


SOUTHERN INDIANS OF SOUTH AMERICA. 119 

become so dexterous in its management. They still 
exist, it is said, in South America, but whether they 
are a distinct people, and addicted as before to their 
wild forest-life, or whether they have mingled with 
the nations which have sprung up from the Spanish 
settlements, and bear a Christian name, we have no 
means of determining. Some curious practices among 
them will be related hereafter, in describing the man- 
ners, customs, and antiquities of the Indian tribes of 
this part of South America. 

A remarkable incident, respecting an Indian chief 
■of a powerful tribe near Buenos Ayres, is related to 
have occurred in the year 1745. Orellana, as he is 
named in the account, with ten of his followers, having 
been taken captive by the Spaniards, was placed on 
board a Spanish ship of 66 guns and 500 men, and 
there treated with great cruelty. Finding means to 
communicate his plan to his men, they watched their 
time, and when a favorable opportunity occurred, they 
suddenly rose, armed with thongs of leather loaded 
with double-headed shot, prepared beforehand, and 
drove the Spaniards below. They then killed forty of 
them, and kept possession of the ship for two hours, in 
spite of all the efforts of the Spaniards to regain it ; 
but Orellana being at last wounded by a random shot 
through the cabin doors, and seeing the Spaniards on 
the point of success, he, with his brave men, leaped 
overboard, and they were all drowned. 

Of the several Indian tribes that inhabit that large 
tract of territory known by the name of Patagonia, and 
which terminates in the cold and desolate regions of 
Terra del Fuego, we can give no history. They are 


120 SOUTHERN INDIANS OF SOUTH AMERICA. 

now, as when first discovered, mere savages, and have 
continued to occupy the soil with little disturbance 
from Europeans. Their country is too poor and re- 
pulsive to tempt the cupidity of civilized man, hence 
it has remained in the possession of its original masters. 
As they have no history worthy of remembrance, so 
they have no means of preserving the memory of 
events ; and thus, like the leaves of the forest, they 
live, pass away, and then slumber in oblivion for ever. 
Their manners and customs alone are worthy of rec rd, 
and these will be given in their proper place. 


r 




INDIANS OF BRAZIL. 


Brazil was discovered in 1500. The first Span* 
iard who ventured to cross the equator was Vincent 
Pinzon. He landed at a point on the coast of Brazil, 
about twenty miles south of Pernambuco. A fleet 
was soon after sent out from Portugal, in which sailed 
that fortunate adventurer, Americus Vespucius, who 
has given his name to the New World. 

The Indians of Brazil were real savages, perfidious, 
cruel, and cannibals, and appear to have had scarcely 
a single noble or generous trait in their characters. The 
dreadful depravity of these tribes seems to have in- 
fused the spirit of furies into the hearts of the fe- 
males ; and when the women of a people are rendered 
ferocious, there is little, if any, chance, that the nation 
will ever, by its own efforts, become civilized. The 
following account of the first interview between the 
Portuguese and the Brazilian Indians is sufficient to 
show the character of the latter. 

When the ships arrived on the coast, in Lat. 5^^ S., 
a party of natives was discovered on a hill near 

the seaside. Two sailors volunteered to go ashore 

XI. — 11 


122 


INDIANS OF BRAZIL. 


and several days passed witliout their return. At 
length the Portuguese landed, sent a young man to 
meet the savages, and returned to thejr boats. Some 
icomen came forward to meet him, apparently as ne- 
gotiators. They surrounded him, and seemed to bo 
examining him with curiosity and wonder. Presently 
another woman came down from the hill, having a 
stake in her hand, with which she got behind him, and 
dealt him a blow that brought him to the ground. Im- 
mediately the others seized him by the feet, and 
dragged him a^vay, and then the Indian men, rushing 
to the shore, discharged their arrows at the boats. 

The sailors finally escaped, but they had to witness 
the horrid spectacle of their poor comrade destroyed 
by the ruthless savages. The women cut the body ir. 
pieces, and held up the mutilated limbs in mockery , 
then, broiling them over a huge fire, which had been 
prepared, as it seemed, for that purpose, they devoured 
them, with loud rejoicings, in presence of the Por- 
tuguese. The Indians also made signs that they had 
eaten the other two sailors ! 

It will be neither pleasant nor useful to give any 
more minute accounts of the practice of cannibalism. 
It is sufficient to say, that the tribes inhabiting the eastern* 
part of South America appear to have been sunk in the 
grossest ignorance and most deplorable state of vice and 
misery to which human beings can be reduced. They 
were more like tigers and serpents than men ; for they 
used poisoned arrows, deadly as the “ serpent’s tooth,” 
in battle ; and they tore and devoured their enemies 
nith the voracity of beasts of prey. 

The Europeans, who first settled in Brazil, had to 


INDIANS OF BRAZIL. 


123 


gain all their possessions by the sword ; anc few would 
go voluntarily to such a place ; the Portuguese settlers 
being mostly convicts, banished for their crimes. As 
might be expected, this class of men, rendered des- 
perate by their situation, and often hardened in crime, 
were not very merciful to the natives, who, in turn, 
showed them no mercy. The bloody conflicts and the 
atrocities on both sides were awful ; yet we can hardly 
feel the same sympathy for the cannibal Indian as for 
the gentle Peruvian, when his country is laid waste 
by the invader. 

It was about fifty years from the time of the first 
landing of the Portuguese, before a regular administra- 
tion was established and a governor appointed by the 
king of Portugal. The Jesuits then settled in Brazil, and 
began their labor of Christianizing the savages. Sev- 
eral tribes had entered into alliance with the colonists, 
and these Indians were forbidden, by the governor, to 
eat human flesh. To conquer this propensity was the 
great aim of the Jesuits ; but finding that they could 
not reclaim those who had grown old in this vice, they 
set themselves to instructing the children. 

One gentle propensity these Brazilian savages 
showed, which seems hardly compatible with their cruel 
and vindictive characters, — they were passionately 
fond of music, — so fond, that one Jesuit thought ho 
could succeed in Christianizing them by means of 
songs. He taught the children to sing ; and when 
he went on his preaching excursions, he usually took 
a number of these little choristers with him, and on 
approaching an inhabited place, one child carried the 
crucifix before them, and the others followed, singing 


124 


INDIANS OF BRAZIL. 


the litany, The savages, like serpents, were won by 
the voice of the charmer, and received the Jesuit 
joyfully. He set the catechism, creed, and ordinary 
prayers, to sol fa ; and the pleasure of learning to sing 
was such a temptation, that the children frequently ran 
away from their parents to put themselves under the 
care of the Jesuits. 

These priests labored with devoted zeal to convert 
the natives. Their exertions were productive of great 
effect ; a change has been gradually wrought, and the 
cannibal propensities, among those tribes that still re- 
main independent, are no longer indulged. 

Many missions, as they are called, that is, villages, 
where a priest resides and instructs the Indians in agri- 
culture and the most essential arts of civilized life, as 
well as in their Catholic duties, were established by the 
Jesuits, and are still continued. One very unfortunate 
circumstance has done much to alienate the indepen- 
dent tribes from their white neighbours. It was thought 
best to make slaves of the savages, in order to civilize 
them. Walsh thus describes the decree and its ef- 
fect. 

“ The Indians were, as late as 1798, the occupants 
of the woods, and were generally found resident on 
the banks of the rivers and streams which intersected 
the country. An elderly gentleman, who was secre- 
tary to the undertaking, informed me that it was neces- 
sary for the commissioners and workmen to go con- 
stantly armed, to be protected against their hostility. 
The Puvis lay on the River Parahiba, and others on 
he streams which fall into it. 

By a mistaken humanity, however, permission was 


INDIANS OF BRAZIL. 


125 


afterwards given to the Brazilians to convert their 
neighbours to Christianity ; and ;’or this laudable ob- 
ject, they were allowed to retain them in a state of 
bondage for ten years, and then dismiss them free, 
when instructed in the arts of civilized life, and tho 
more important knowledge of Christianity. This per- 
mission, as was to be expected, produced the very op- 
posite effects. 

“ A decree for the purpose was issued so late as the 
year 1808, by Don John, and it was one of the meas- 
ures which he thought best to reclaim the aborigines, 
who had just before committed some ravages. He 
directed that the Indians, who were conquered, should 
be distributed among the agriculturists, who should 
support, clothe, civilize, and instruct them in the prin- 
ciples of our holy religion, but should be allowed to 
use the services of the same Indians for a certain 
number of years, in compensation for the expense of 
their instruction and management. 

“ This unfortunate oermission at once destroyed all 
intercourse between the natives and the Brazilians. 
The Indians were everywhere hunted down for the 
sake of their salvation ; wars were excited among the 
tribes, for the laudable purpose of bringing in each 
other as captives, to be converted to Christianity ; and 
the most sacred objects were prostituted to the base cif- 
pidity of man, by even this humane and limited per- 
mission of reducing his fellow-creatures to slavery. 

In the distant provinces, particularly on the banks 
of the Maranhao, it is still practised, and white men set 
out for the woods to seek their fortunes ; tha"' is, to 
hunt Indians and return with slaves. The consequence 

11 * 


126 


INDIANS OF BFAZII 


was, that all who could escape retired to the remotest 
forests ; and there is not one to be now found in a 
state of nature in all the wooded region. 

“ It frequently happened, as we passed along, that 
dark wreaths of what appeared like smoke arose from 
among distant trees on the sides of the mountains, 
and they seemed to us to be decisive marks of Indian 
wigwams ; but we found them to be nothing more 
than misty exhalations, which shot up in thin, circum- 
scribed co.umns, exactly resembling smoke issuing 
from the aperture of a chimney. 

“ We met, however, one, in the woods, with a 
copper-colored face, high cheek-bones, small dark eyes 
approaching each other, a vacant, stupid cast of coun- 
tenance, and long, lank, black hair hanging on his 
shoulders. He had on him some approximation to a 
Portuguese dress, and belonged to one of the aldeas 
formed in this region ; but he had probably once w’an- 
dered about these woods in a state of nature, where he 
was now going peaceably along on a European road. 

“ We had passed, in going through Valen^a, one of 
these aldeas of the Indians of the valley of Parahiba, 
Christianized and instructed in the arts of civilized life. 
Another, called the Aldea da Pedra, is situated on the 
river, nearer to its mouth, where the people still retain 
flieir erratic habits, though apparently conforming to 
oui‘ usages. 

They live in huts, thatched with palm-leaves 
and when not engaged in hunting and fishing, which 
is their chief and favorite employment, they gather 
i})ecacuanha, and fell timber. They are docile anc» 
pacific, having no cruel propensities, bui are disposea 


INDIANS OF BRAZIL. 


127 


to be hospitable to strangers. Their family attach- 
ments are not very strong, either for their wives or 
children, as they readily dispose of both to a traveller 
for a small compensation.” 

One of the most ferocious tribes of Brazil was the 
Botocudos, thought to be the remains of a powerful 
and most cruel race, which the early settlers called 
Aymores. This tribe disfigured themselves by making 
a large hole in the under-lip, and wearing therein a 
piece of white wood, or some ornament. They also 
cut large holes in their ears, and stuck feathers in the 
aperture for ornaments. They us^ to go entirely 
naked, and, brown as the beasts of the forest, were 
frightful objects to behold. 

“ The Brazilian government,” says Mr. Walsh, “ de- 
serves credit for the manner in which it has managed 
these Indians. They lived on the Rio Doce, and laid 
waste every settlement attempted in that beautiful and 
fertile region. In 1809, a party of Europeans were 
sent up the river, and they found one hundred and fifry 
farms in ruins, whose proprietors had either perished 
or fled. Detachments were accordingly ordered in all 
directions, to restrain the inroads of the savages, and tc 
punish their aggressions ; and every encouragement was 
held out, to establish new settlements and civilize them. 

‘‘ Every village consisting of twelve huts of Indians 
and ten of whites was to be considered a villa, with all 
its benefits and privileges ; and sesmarios, or grants of 
land, were made to such as would become cultivators, 
giving dL the privileges and advantages of original do- 
notorios. New roads were then opened to form a more 
easy communication, and considerable effect was pro- 


128 


INDIANS OF BRAZIL. 


duced on these intractable natives. The Puvis, a 
neighbouring tribe, to the number of one thousand, 
were located in villages, called aldeas ; and the arts 
and industry of civilized life made more progress among 
them, in a few years from this period, than they had 
before done in so many centuries.” 



THE INDIANS OF FLORIDA 


The peninsula of Florida was discovered and named 
ay a Spanish adventurer, called Ponce de Leon, who, 
on his second voyage, was mortally wounded in a con- 
flict with the natives. A few years after this, a small 
vessel was driven on the coast by severe weather, and 
a traffic commenced with the natives for silver and gold. 
Other adventurers began to turn their attention to this 
supposed land of wealth, and Lucas Vasquez de Ayll- 
011 fitted out two vessels to cruise among the islands, 
and kidnap the Indians for laborers in the mines. The 
ships were driven to the shore, near a cape, which was 
named St. Helena. When the natives of the country, 
which bore the name of Chicorea, first saw the ves- 
sels, they fancied them to be huge sea-monsters ; but 
when they saw white, bearded men, clad in armor, 
come forth from them, they were so terrified that they 
ran away. Their fears, however, were soon dispelled, 
and a trade was begun, in Avhich they received trinket3 
in exchange for pearls, skins, gold, and silver. 

When, at length, the Spaniards were ready for sail- 
ing, the Indians were invited on board of the ships , 
and while many of them crowded the vessels, gazing 

9 


130 


THE INDIANS OF FLORIDA. 


in wonder at all they saw, the adventurers treacher- 
ously closed the hatches on those who were below, 
and set sail for St. Domingo. The natives, thus en- 
trapped, remained sullen and gloomy, and refused to 
partake of food, so that most of them perished on their 
voyage. 

Ayllon now determined to make an expedition to 
Florida in person, and fitted out three large vessels, 
taking with him a former adventurer as a guide. The 
latter, however, was unable to find- the place sought 
for, and they finally landed near Chicorea, where 
they were so well received that the chief allowed 
two hundred of the men to visit his principal vil- 
lage, three leagues in the interior. The natives feasted 
them for three days, and having thus thrown them off 
their guard, rose upon them by night, and massacred 
the whole. After this, they repaired, early in the 
morning, to the harbour, where they surprised Ayllon 
and his guards. The few who survived speedily got 
on board the vessel, and hastened back to St. Domingo. 

In 1628, Panfilo Narvaez reached the coast of Flor- 
ida with a squadron of four barks and a brigantine. 
Pie landed four hundred men and fifty horses, and took 
possession of the country in the name of the king of 
Spain, unopposed by the natives. On penetrating into 
the interior, in search of gold, he and his men found 
the principal village deserted ; and not only were 
they disappointed of finding the chief object of then 
wishes, but the warlike natives harassed them on their 
march through swamps filled with decayed trees, where 
they had often to wade in the water up to their breasts. 
The Indians ^e^ed. of giant height ; they had enor- 


THE INHIANS OF FLORIDA. 


131 


nious bows, and discharged their arrows with such 
prodigious force as to penetrate steel armor at the dis- 
tance of two hundred yards. After a most disastrous 
march, the greater part of the Spaniards finally reached 
the shore, and embarked, but they were lost at sea. 
Five of the party, who had set out in another direction, 
crossed Northern Florida, the Mississippi, the desert 
and mountains beyond, and, after some years, succeed- 
ed in reaching the Spanish settlements in Mexico. 

But the most important exploration of Florida, and 
the territory north and west, was made at an early 
period by Hernando de Soto and his band. He left 
Cuba on the 12th of May, 1539, with a squadron of 
eight large vessels, a caravel, and two brigantines ; his 
armament, besides the ships’ crews, consisting of not 
less than one thousand men and three hundred and 
fifty horses. On the thirteenth day, he arrived in the 
bay which he called Espiritu Santo. The natives, 
alarmed at the sight of such an invading force, imme- 
diately kindled fires all along the coast, to summon 
their warriors. The troops, on landing, the last day 
of the month, did not encounter a single Indian, and 
they remained all night on shore in a state of careless 
security. 

At break of day, however, a sudden onset was made 
upon them by a vast army of the Indians. Several of 
the troops were wounded, others were panic-struck, 
and retreated to the shore. Relief was sent from the 
ships, and the Indians were finally put to flight. Land- 
ing the remainder of his forces, De Soto found the 
villages deserted, and learned, from some prisoners he 
took, that the hostility he had encountered was occa- 


132 


THE INDIANS 0? FLORIDA. 


sioned by outrages committed by Narvaez on a cacique 
of the village, called Hivrihigua. Having gained his 
friendship, and formed a treaty \vi:h him, the treacher- 
ous Spaniard, in a fit of passion, ordered the cacique’s 
nose to be cut off, and his mother to be torn in pieces 
by dogs. De Soto endeavoured, by sending presents 
to the mutilated chief, to gain his favor ; but he in* 
dignantly replied to the messages, I want none of 
their speeches and promises ; bring me their heads, 
and I will joyfully receive them.” 

Juan Ortiz, a follower of Narvaez, who had been 
captured by Hivrihigua, was obtained as an interpreter. 
This man was one of four on whom the cacique had 
determined to wreak his vengeance, on account of the 
treatment he had received. The others were stripped 
naked, led out into the public square, and set at liberty, 
to be shot to death by arrows. To prolong their torture, 
only one Indian was allowed to shoot at a time, and in 
this manner they were all killed, with the exception of 
Juan Ortiz. This was a youth hardly eighteen years 
old, and his appearance, as he was led forth to execu- 
tion, so touclied the hearts of the wife and daughters 
of the cacique, that, at their intercession, he was spar- 
ed. He was, however, reduced to a state of slavery, 
made to bear burdens, and be the object of barbarous 
amusements. At one time, he was bound down on a 
wooden frame, over a bed of live coals, to be roasted 
alive. Again his pitying protectors came to his relief, 
and, by their entreaties, he was once more spared. 

After various adventures, he was committed to a 
neighbouring cacique, by the daughter of Hivrihigua, 
and remained there till sent for by De Soto to act as 


THE INDIANS OF FLORIDA. 


13S 


an interpreter. The cacique under whose protection he 
had been, named Mucozo, also came to the Spanish 
camp with his warriors, and, in reply to the assurances 
of De Soto that he should be kindly treated, he magnan- 
imously said, ‘‘ What I have done to Ortiz is but little ; 
he came commended to me, and threw himself on my 
protection. There is a law’’ of our tribe which forbids 
our betraying a fugitive who asks of us an asylum. 
But his own virtue and dauntless courage entitled him 
to all the respect which was shown him. That I have 
pleased your people, I rejoice exceedingly, and by de- 
voting myself henceforth to their service, I hope to 
merit their esteem.” 

The mother of Mucozo, distressed with fears for her 
son, also came, and begged De Soto to deliver him 
up. “ He is young,” said she ; “ only give him his 
liberty, and take me, who am a poor old woman, and 
do with me as you please. I will bear any punishment 
for both.” Though treated with kindness, she still con- 
tinued anxious and suspicious. She would eat nothing 
at the governor’s table till Ortiz had first tasted *t ; and 
when asked how it happened that she, who so feared 
death, should ofier to die for her son, she replied, “ I 
love life as others do, but I would willingly lose it to 
save a son who is far dearer to me than life itself.” 
Though assured by her son that he was entirely at 
liberty, she returned home in sorrow. 

By means of kindness to some of his captives, whom 
he allowed to go home loaded wdth presents, De Soto 
tried to soften the stern cacique, Hivrihigua. His 
reply was, “ The memory of my injuries forbids my 
sendir.g a kind answer, and a harsh one your courtesy 

XI. — 12 


134 


THE INDIANS OF FLORIDA. 


will not allow me to return.” Learning that Hivrihigua 
was concealed in a forest not far from the camp, one 
of De Soto’s followers undertook to capture him. He 
had not gone far, before he met a messenger from the 
cacique, who begged him, in the name of his master, 
not to proceed any further, as the old cacique was 
secure in his fortress, and he could not reach him, 
while he would be exposed to great danger in the mo- 
rasses and forests which lay in his way. The event 
proved according to the warning ; for, notwithstanding 
repeated messages to the same effect, the foolhardy 
cavalier persisted, and was finally compelled to return 
home without having accomplished his' purpose. 

As the Spaniards advanced into the interior of the 
country, they found warlike Indians hanging about 
their path, and harassing them at every step. The 
savages assailed their enemy with great fury, and 
fought bravely ; but they were no match for horsemen 
so armed at all points that the arrows could make no 
impression on them. On the approach of De Soto, 
the caciques fled into the woods, and prepared for re- 
sistance. One of these, named Acuera, being invited 
to a peaceable interview, replied, “ Others of your 
accursed race have, in years past, poisoned our peace- 
ful shores. They have taught me what you are. What 
is your employment ? To wander about, like vaga- 
bonds, from land to land ; to rob the poor ; to betray 
the confiding ; to murder, in cold blood, the defence- 
less. No ; with such a people I want no peace, no 
friendship. War, never-ending, exterminating war, is 
all that I ask. You boast yourselves valiant, and so 
you may be ; but my faithful warriors are not less 


THE INDIANS OF FLORIDA. 


135 


brave, and this, too, you shall one day know ; for 1 
have sworn to maintain an unsparing hostility, while 
one white man remains in my borders. Not openly in 
the battle, — though even thus we fear not to meet 
you, — but by stratagem, and ambush, and midnight 
siirprisal, shall you be met.” 

To the demand of obedience to the emperor of 
Spain, the Indian replied, “ I am king in my own 
land, and will never become the vassal of a mortal like 
myself. Vile and pusillanimous is he who will submit 
to the yoke of another, when he may be free. As for 
me and my people, we choose death, yes, a hundred 
deaths, before the loss of our liberty, and the subjuga- 
tion of our country.” 

De Soto sent out persons in every quarter to explore 
the country, but the Indians lurked in ambush, and 
cut off every Spaniard who strayed from the camp ; 
and though De Soto caused the bodies to be buried, 
yet the Indians always returned in the night, dug them 
up, cut them in pieces, and hung them on the trees 
Fourteen Europeans thus perished, and many more 
were wounded. In this manner the natives fulfilled their 
threats. “ Keep on, robbers and traitors,” said they ; 
“ in Acuera and Apalachee, we will treat you as you 
deserve. Every captive will we quarter and hang up 
on the highest trees along the road.” 

As De Soto advanced still further, he was attacked 
by some of the subjects of the cacique, Ocali. The ad- 
ventures of the Spaniards with Vitachuco were remark- 
able, but we cannot detail them here.* In the fierce 


*' See “ Lives of Famous Indians.” 


136 


THE INDIANS OF FLORIDA. 


battles fought with De Soto, the Indian warriors show* 
ed great bravery, but they were finally defeated, and 
nearly exterminated. The same determined spirit of 
resistance was manifested by almost every tribe of the 
Florida Indians. 

After many battles and skirmishes, the Spaniards 
approached a village called Anhayea. The Indians 
had fled, but it was found to contain two hundred and 
fifty large and commodious houses ; besides which, 
there w-ere said to be many others in the province, 
consisting of from fifty to a hundred houses. There 
were, also, many dwellings scattered about the coun- 
try. De Soto, to relieve himself from the harassing 
attacks of the Indians in this quarter, formed a plan 
to get possession of the cacique, Capafi. This person 
was so fat and unwieldy, that he could neither walk 
nor stand. When he went about his dw^elling, he was 
obliged to move on his hands and knees, and in going 
from place to place was borne in a litter on the shoul- 
ders of his subjects. Learning that he w^as in the midst 
of a dense and vast forest, about eight leagues off, 
fortified in the strongest manner known to this people, 
and garrisoned by a band of his bravest and choicest 
warriors, so that he felt himself to be impregnable, De 
Soto determined to attack him. 

The Spaniards met with a strong resistance at the 
entrance of the defile which led to the open place 
where tlie cacique had taken up his abode. It w^as sc 
narrow that but two could go in abreast. The pali- 
sades were, however, gained in succession, and the 
place of the cacique’s refuge finally reached. Here a 
desperate conflict took place. Perceiving the danger 


THE INDIANS OF FLORIDA. 


137 


of their chief, the Indians threw themselves on the 
swords and spears of the Spaniards. Many were the 
valiant feats performed on both sides ; but as the In- 
dians were without defensive armor, most of them were 
at last cut down, and the cacique, knowing that further 
resistance was vain, called on the survivors to surren- 
der. They therefore threw themselves before the 
Spanish leader, and offered their own lives, but be- 
sought him to spare that of their cacique. 

De Soto assured them of pardon, and that he would 
henceforth consider them as his friends. Capafi, una- 
ble to walk, was taken up on the arms of his attend- 
ants to kiss De Soto’s hands, who treated him with 
urbanity and kindness. The wily chief, however, on 
the return to the village of Anhayea, found means to 
escape. This was effected in the following manner. 
The Indians, notwithstanding the captivity of their 
chief, did not cease their efforts to annoy the Span- 
iards. De Soto reproached the cacique with ingrati 
tu'de, and threatened a war- of extermination. Thv 
cacique expressed his grief, and said, that as the chief 
assailants were concealed in a thick forest, five or s*x 
leagues off, he would go there under guard of some 
Spaniards, and persuade them to submit. 

De Soto sent him, attended by a company of horse 
and foot, who were ordered to watch him closely, and 
not allow him to escape. On reaching the forest, at 
sunset, the cacique sent some Indians to the warriors 
who were there concealed, with orders to assemble 
before him the next morning. The Spaniards, satis" 
tied that the orders of the cacique would be obeyed, 
betook themselves to rest, having stationed their senti- 

12 * 


138 


THE INDIANS OF FLORIDA. 


nels, and placed a guard over the chief ; but, owing to 
the fatigue of their long march, they all fell asleep. 
Perceiving this, the cacique watched his opportunity, 
crawled on his hands and knees through the camp, and 
soon fell in with a party of his warriors, who took him 
on their shoulders and carried him away. The Span- 
iards, mortified with the result of their expedition, re- 
turned, and on their march were taunted by the In- 
dians for the failure of their schemes. They pretended 
to De Soto that they had lost their captive by some art 
of necromancy, and he, though aware of the truth, ap- 
parently yielded to the story, saying, that the Indians 
were such wonderful necromancers that they might 
have performed still greater feats of skill. 

In an attempt made by a garrison left behind at 
Hivrihigua to reach De Soto, a terrible battle ensued 
in a morass, which came near proving fatal to the 
whole party. Nothing but the fall of the Indian chief 
who led the onset saved them from destruction. The 
battle took place in the - water, and the Indians rushed 
with wild yells from behind bushes, brakes, and the 
trunks of trees, discharging showers of arrows at their 
enemy. The horses, being wounded, became furious, 
and threw off the foot-soldiers, who were mounted 
behind the horsemen. They were thus exposed to 'the 
arrows of the enemy, who perceived their fall, and 
rushed forward to despatch them. 

In front of the assailants was an Indian entirely 
naked, bold and fearless, with a large plume of feath- 
ers on his head. He sought to gain the shelter of a 
great tree which lay between him and the Spaniards. 
One of these, bearing a crossbow, sent an arrow with 


THE INDIANS OF FLORIDA. 


139 


so true an aim, that it pierced him through the breast. 
He staggered forward a few paces, crying out to his 
followers, “ These traitors have slain me*^ ” His com- 
rades then rushed to his aid, received him in their 
arms, and, passing him on from one to another, carriea 
him away. 

In another part of the morass, the battle was not 
less bloody, and the Spaniards were losing ground, 
■N\hen, at the most critical moment, the news came to 
the Indians that their chief was mortally wounded • 
this checked their ardor, and they began to retreat. 
The Spaniards halted for the night, and it is said that 
scarcely a man among them had escaped without a 
wound. 

On resuming their march, every inch of ground was 
disputed by the enemy, till the adventurers came to an 
open plain, where the cavalry could act with effect. 
The Indians then departed, but, when night came, 
they hovered round the camp with dreadful yells and 
bowlings, taunting their foes, and launching against 
.hem clouds of arrows, thus forcing them to keep in 
perpetual motion. Frequently, the Spaniards were 
obliged to remove barriers and palisades which ob- 
structed their march, and to cut their way through the 
tangled thicket ; while the Indians, from their ambush, 
cried out, ‘‘ Where are you going, robbers ? VVe have 
already killed your chief and all his warriors ! ” 

The Spaniard.3 having spent the winter of 1539 in 
Apalachee, where they were perpetually annoyed by 
the bold and warlike savages, resumed their march on 
the arrival of spring. As they advanced, they came 
to the deserted village of Achese, where they made 


140 


THE INDIANS OF FLORIDA. 


prisoners of two warriors, who, being brought before 
De Soto, demanded, in a bold and fearless mannei, 
“What seelc you in our land, peace or war?” De 
Soto replied, “ We seek not war with any one ; but 
our wish is to cultivate peace and friendship. We are 
in search of a distant province, and all we ask is food 
by the road.” The warriors promised to supply all 
necessary food, and an embassy being sent to the ca- 
cique of Cofa, he returned a deputation of two thou- 
sand Indians, with a present of rabbits, partridges, and 
fnaize, and a great number of dogs. The cacique also 
gave the Spaniards a generous welcome, and set apart 
his own dwelling for De Soto, providing, likewise, 
quarters for the army. The province is said to have 
been very extensive, fertile, and populous. The na- 
tives were peaceful, domestic, and affable, treating the 
strangers with great kindness. 

De Soto, who had brought with him a piece of ord- 
nance, showed its power by prostrating, with ten shots, 
a large oak-tree. The cacique and his people mani- 
fested great amazement as well as pleasure ; and when 
the Spaniards departed, the chief sent messengers to 
his brother Cofaqui, the cacique of an adjoining prov- 
ince, still more opulent and powerful than his own, 
begging him to receive the strangers kindly. He like- 
wise, in company with his warriors, escorted the army 
one day’s march, and, having bidden them farewell, 
charged some of his people to go on further, and do 
all in their power to serve them. 

The caciqTie Cofaqui, on receiving his brother’s 
message, sent four chiefs, with a train of Indians, to 
welcome De Soto and his band. As they drew near. 


THE INDIANS OF FLORIDA. 


141 


W went out, richly decorated, to receive them ; taking 
with him a company of warriors who carried their 
bows and arrows in their hands, and wore tall plumes 
on their heads, with rich mantles of martin-skin, finely 
dressed, over their shoulders. Four thousand warriors 
were appointed to escort the strangers, with an equal 
number of retainers to carry supplies and clothing. 
These Indians depended on the chase for animal food ; 
but their principal articles of provision were maize, 
dried plums, grapes, walnuts, and acorns. 

A short time before the Spaniards departed, the ca- 
cique called his chief warrior to him in the public 
square, and there, in the presence of De Soto and his 
offices, said, “ You well know that a perpetual enmity 
has existed between our fathers and the Indians of Co- 
fachiqui. That bitter hatred, you are aware, has not 
abated in the least ; the deep wrongs, the notorious in- 
juries, we have suffered from that vile tribe, still rankle 
incur hearts, unrevenged! The* present opportunity 
must not be lost ! You, the leader of my warriors, 
must accompany this chief and his braves, and under 
their protection wreak vengeance on our. enemies ! I 
need say no more to you ; I leave our cause and our 
honor in your hands.” 

The Indian chief, to whom this message was ad- 
dressed, was called Patofa ; he had a graceful form 
and striking features, with a noble expression of coun- 
tenance ; and his whole demeanour showed that he was 
vorthy of the trust confided in him. Rising up, he 
threw off his mantle of skin, seized a broadsword of 
palm-wood, and performed an exercise with it which 
excited the admiration of- even the Spanish cavaliersu 


142 THE INDIANS OF FLORIDA. 

After many singular evolutions, he stopi'ed before the 
cacique, and, with a profound reverence, said, “ I 
pledge my word to fulfil your commands, so far as 
I am able ; and, by the favor of these strangers, I 
promise to revenge the insults, the deaths, and losses 
that our fathers have sustained from the people of Co- 
fachiqui. My vengeance shall be such that the mem- 
ory of your past evils shall be for ever wiped away. 
My daring again to appear in your presence will be a 
token that your commands have been executed. For 
if the fates deny my hopes, never again shall you be- 
hold me, never again shall the sun shine upon me. If 
the enemy deny me death, my own hand will find it. 
I will inflict upon myself the punishment my cowar- 
dice or evil fortune will merit.” 

The cacique rose up and embraced him, and, taking 
from his own shoulders a beautiful mantle of martin- 
skins, placed it on Patofa’s shoulders, and said, “ I 
consider that what you have promised is as certain as 
if it were already done ; therefore do I reward you as 
for services already rendered.” 

The march now commenced, and soon after an 
Indian deserted. Patofa sent some men in pursuit 
of him, and he was brought back in fetters. The 
chief ordered him to be led to the banks of a small 
stream, where he was stripped, thrown on the ground, 
and commanded to drink the streamlet dry. The cul- 
prit drank till he could swallow no more ; but the mo- 
ment he raised his head from the water, five Indians, 
who were stationed near, belabored him with their 
clubs till he began again. Some of his comrades hur- 
ried to De Soto, and begged his interposition ; and he 


THE INDIANS OF FLORIDA. 


143 


was accordingly released, though half dead with the 
water he had swallowed. 

The army, as they advanced on the high road, at 
length came to a dense forest, and, as the Indians pro- 
fessed to be as ignorant of the way as the Spaniards, De 
Soto suspected treachery, and called upon Patofa to ex- 
plain how it was, that, of his eight thousand men, not 
one knew the way to Cofachiqui, with the people of 
which they had been so often en^ged in war ? Pato- 
fa declared his ignorance of the place, saying, that the 
wars referred to had been carried on solely by skir- 
mishes ; and as the natives of Cofachiqui were the 
most powerful and had been most frequently victorious, 
his people were afraid to pass beyond their own fron- 
tiers. ‘‘ But,” said he, ‘‘ do you suspect that I have led 
your army into these deserts to perish ? If so, take 
what, hostages you please. If my head will suffice, 
take it ; if not, you may behead every individual of 
my band, as they will obey me even to the death.” 

At length, they came in sight of a country studded 
with numerous villages. Here Patofa and his men 
itole out of the camp by night, assaulted a temple, 
iind massacred every Indian in it, taking their scalps 
as trophies, to be carried to their cacique, Cofaqui. 
After laying waste the country for many leagues, slay- 
ing and scalping every man, woman, and child, 
sacking and pillaging villages and temples, and even 
breaking into the sepulchres, — Patofa and his follow- 
ers returned home, laden with spoils, and pleased 
with having fulfilled the promise made to the cacique. 

De Soto had now reached the dominions of the kind 
princess Cofachiqui, which doubtless formed a part 


144 


THE INDIANS OF FLORIDA. 


of the present State of Georgia ; * but as the Indians 
here, and even farther on, belonged to the Florida 
tribes, and as the country itself constituted a portion of 
the territory originally called Florida, it will be proper 
to give some account of them in this connection. We 
therefore pursue the narrative of De Soto’s march 
through this region. 

The next place mentioned in the story of the adven- 
turers is the province of Achalaque, said, by the nar- 
rator, to be the most wretched in all Florida. The • 
inhabitants were a feeble, peaceful race, nearly naked, 
living chiefly on herbs, roots, and Avild fowl. Be- 
yond this, was a province called Xuala. Crossing 
a chain of low mountains which were uninhabited, 
the Spaniards next reached the province of Guaxule. 
When within a league of the principal town, they 
were met by the cacique, with 500 warriors richly 
dressed in mantles of various kinds of skins, and 
adorned with gay feathers. His village consisted of 
about 300 houses. His own dwelling, into which 
he received De Soto, stood on a mound, and was 
encircled by a terrace wide enough for six men to 
walk upon it abreast. 

Still farther on, after passing through a desert coun- 
try, they came to a village named Ichiaha, standing 
at the extremity of an island more than five leagues 
in length, the cacique of which gave them a po- 
lite and friendly welcome. After another day’s march, 
they came to a village called Acoste, the cacique of 
which was a fierce warrior. He placed himself in 


* For an account of Cofachiqui, see “ Lives of Famous In- 
dians 


THE INDIANS OF FLORIDA. 


145 


battle array at the head of 1,500 of his men, who 
were decorated wdth w^ar plumes, and equipped with 
arms. After some difficulties, a good understand- 
ing was established, and the Spaniards were received 
with hospitality. Continuing their march, they me^ 
with numerous tribes, and encountered ‘a great va- 
riety of adventures. From the giant chieftain, Tus- 
caloosa,* they received the fiercest resistance ; and 
the Chickasaws, who were a brave and numerous 
people, assailed them with desperate resolution. As 
they proceeded, new enemies sprang up to meet them, 
who either gave them open battle, or hung upon 
their skirts, and harassed them with perpetual at- 
tacks. At one time, they came in sight of a fortress, 
garrisoned by Indians, whose bodies v’ere painted in 
stripes of white, black, and red, and their faces black- 
ened, with red circles about tlieir eves. Some of 
them wore feathers, and some horns on their heads, 
so that they looked more like devils than men. Hav- 
ing kindled a fire in front of their fort, they pretended 
to knock one of their companions on the head with a 
club, and then swung him by the feet and shoulders, 
as if they were throwing him into the flames ; thus 
intimating to the Spaniards the kind of treatment they 
might expect if any of them fell into their hands. 
The fortress was, however, stormed and carried after 
a desperate fight, and a fearful scene of blood and ear- 
iiage ensued, in which multitudes of the Indians wore 
slaughtered. 

It is unnecessary to give further details respecting 


* See “ Lives of Famous Indians.” 

10 XL — 13 


146 


THE INDIANS OF FLORIDA 


# 

the adventures of De Soto and his companions. We 
need only say, that, having proceeded westward till he 
had crossed the Mississippi, this daring leader was 
seized with fever, of which he died after an illness 
of seven days. His band of followers, after experi- 
encing great vicissitudes, succeeded in descending the 
Mississippi, amid hosts of enemies, and, though greatly 
reduced in numbers, they at length reached the Gulf 
of Mexico in 1543. Thus terminated this celebrated 
expedition, which occupied four years, and in which 
the troops are said to have marched between four and 
five thousand miles. 

The subsequent history of the original Indian tribes 
of Florida affords nothing of interest. Under the op- 
pression of the Spanish dominion, many of them were 
destroyed, and others driven off, so that but few re- 
mained. Most of them seem to have been conquered, 
incorporated with the later Seminoles, and intermin- 
gled with fugitive negroes. The recent painful his- 
tory of these we shall hereafter notice. The greater 
part have been removed across the Mississippi, by the 
United States government, and only a remnant are 
left to occupy what is now the Territor;. of Florida. 


THE INDIANS OF VIRGINIA. 


When the Europeans began their settlements in 
what is now the territory of the United States, the 
whole country was occupied by a great number of 
separate and independent tribes. Upon the investiga- 
tion of their languages, it has been found that they 
consisted of a few great families, or nations, which 
have been thus distributed by learned writers. 

The Algonquins^ or Chippewas^ were spread over the 
entire continent east of the IVfississippi and north of Cape 
Hatteras, with the exception of the regions inhabited 
by the Esquimaux^ far to the north, and the territory 
claimed by the Hurons^ or Wyandots. This latter fam- 
ily, which included the Iroquois^ or Six Nations^ spread 
themselves over the space now occupied by New York, 
a part of Ohio, and the whole of Upper Canada. 
The Mohilian^ or Florida nations, included the tribes 
south of Cape Fear and west of the Mississippi, ex- 
cepting the Natchez^ inhabiting the country around the 
modern cit}^ of that name, and the lichees , who held the 
country contiguous to the present town of Augusta, in 
Georgia. The CJierokees^ Tuscaroras^ and Caiawhas^ 
three considerable nations, occupied the territory of the 


148 


THE INDIANS OF VIRGINIA. 


Carolinas, Virginia, and Tennessee. The Sioux^ or 
Dahcotahs^ dwelt along the western borders of the 
Mississippi. 

These himilies, or nations, as we have already said, 
were broken into a multitude of distinct tribes, each 
having, for the most part, its particular dialect, and 
carrying on war against every other tribe. In some 
instances, several tribes were confederated together, 
either for the purposes of defence or aggression. Their 
whole number has been variously estimated, but it 
probably did not exceed 500,000 at the time of the 
settlement at Jamestown, in 1607. 

When our ancestors came to these shores, they 
found tlie Indians thinly scattered over the country, 
though occasionally gathered in considerable groups 
in the more fertile valleys, and along the banks of 
rivers, lakes, and bays. They were in the rudest state 
of society, without science, without arts, without any 
metallic instruments, without domestic animals. They 
raised a little corn, which the women cultivated with 
a clam-shell, or the shoulder-blade of the buffalo. De- 
vouring this with savage improvidence, they obtained a 
precarious supply for the rest of the year by gathering 
nuts and roots, or by hunting and fishing. Half clad 
in skins, or entirely naked, they roamed from place to 
place, passing their lives, alternately, in stupid idleness, 
and the fiercest excitements of war and the chase. Ig- 
norant of the past, and improvident of the future, most 
of these tribes were sunk in the lowest depths of hu- 
man degradation. 

Such were the occupants of the soil, when the Eu- 
ropean settlers came to establish themselves here. 


THE IMDIANS OF \'IRGINIA. 


149 


Throughout the continent, the Indians appear to have 
been at first disposed to give a hospitable reception to 
the strangers who visited their shores ; but they were 
soon taught to dread, and then to hare, a people, who 
shot them down, subjected them to slavery, and robbed 
them of their property and lands, without mercy or 
scruple. When the settlements began along our At- 
lantic coast, more than a century had passed since the 
discovery of the continent by Columbus, and ample 
time had elapsed for many of the tribes to experience, 
and all to know, the oppressive and formidable charac- 
ter of these European invaders. 

Though the number of the Indians in this quarte* 
was not great, yet their skill in war, and the deep- 
seated jealousy and hatred of the white race, which 
had grown up with them, rendered them a fearful foa 
to feeble colonies, separated by a wide ocean from the 
protection and succour of their native land. The con- 
tests of our forefathers with the Indians, therefore, 
were full of the deepest interest to them, and abound 
in incidents which cannot fail to arrest the attention of 
every reader. 

When the Europeans first planted themselves at 
Jamestown, according to Captain Smith’s account, the 
country, from the sea-coast to the mountains, was in- 
habited by forty-three different tribes. Thirty of these 
spread over the tract of country south of the Potomac, 
within a space of about 8,000 square miles. Within 
sixty miles of Jamestown, it is said, there were 5,000 
of these natives. There were several confederacies 
among them, the chief of which were the Powhatan 
confederacy, the confederacy of the Mannahoacks, and 

13 ♦ 


150 


THE INDIANS OF VIRGINIA. 


that of the Monacans. These last two were united in 
a grand alliance against the Powhatan league. Long 
and bloody wars were maintained between these rival 
sovereignties. The Mannahoack confederacy embrac- 
ed thirteen tribes, eight of whom were under the Man- 
nahoacks, and five under the Monacans. Besides these, 
there were also the independent tribes of the Notto- 
ways, Meherriks, Tuteloes, and various others. 

These tribes, especially the Powhatan confederacy, 
were not disposed to allow the English to settle down 
among them unmolested. Though at times preserving 
a show of peace, feelings of hostility rankled in their 
hearts, and the colonists were obliged to be always on 
their guard. Nor can we blame the Indians that they 
felt inimical to the settlers. Hitherto, they had remain- 
ed sole lords and proprietors of the vast territory over 
which they roamed, undisturbed except by the wars 
which they carried on with each other. To break in 
upon this supremacy, and to appropriate their lands, 
the white man came and planted himself down, not 
only assuming a superiority of intelligence and power, 
but of right. The means of communication with dis- 
tant tribes were evidently greater than has- sometimes 
been imagined, and doubtless the story of Cortes, De 
Soto, and other invaders, had reached the ears of these 
savages. We shall not be surprised, therefore, to find 
that Powhatan, the chief of the tribe of that name, soon 
began to grow hostile to his new neighbours at James- 
town, after their settlement in 1607. The enemy 
he had to oppose, however, was the undaunted and 
chivalrous Captain Smith, whose earlier history seems 
almost like a romance, appropriately followed out by 


THE INDIANS OF VIRGINIA. 


151 


the strange incidents of his residence in the col- 
ony. * 

The Indians, in the course of numerous attacks and 
skirmishe?, learned to regard Smith as a foe by no 
means to ^e despised ; and when, in one of his expedi- 
tions, he 'vas taken captive, their joy knew no bounds. 
After being led from one chief to another. Captain 
Smith was finally presented to Powhatan himself. 
Opechancanough, who was his successor, seems to 
have cherished strong feelings of dislike to Smith, and 
had Powhatan felt disposed to spare him, he would 
have found himself opposed by his chief warriors. 
Finally, when he had been seen by all the Indians, 
and experiments had been tried on his courage, it was 
determined, in a council of chiefs, that he should have 
his brains beaten out with a club. 

The appointed day arrived. Powhatan and his 
warriors were present, exulting in the scene. The 
captive was brought forth ; two large stones were 
placed in a suitable position, and he was laid upon 
them. At this moment, the compassionate Pocahontas, 
the darling daughter of Powhatan, sprang forward, and, 
clasping Smith in her arms, shielded his head with her 
person, and declared that he should not be killed, un- 
less she, too, fell beneath the same blow. So strange 
an event appears to have made a deep impression on 
the father. His daughter persisting in her determina- 
tion to die with the captive, the chief yielded. Smith 


* For the details of Smith’s life, see “ Curiosities of Ilumap 
Nature,” and “ Lives of Celebrated American Indians ” articl# 
“ Pocahontas.” 


153 


THE INDIANS OF VIRGINIA. 


was saved, and sent liorne tc Jamestown. This strik- 
ing event took place in 1607. 

Still, Powhatan, for a considerable time, remained 
the foe of the w’hites, and at various times designed 
evil against the colony ; but his schemes were frus- 
trated by the vigilance of Smith, aided by the cautions 
of Pocahontas, who proved herself, on many occasions^ 
Ins friend. The heroic girl herself was afterwards 
taken prisoner, and during her residence at Jamestown 
was married to Mr. Rolfe, a gentleman of great re- 
spectability. Powhatan was then induced to relinquish 
his hostility, and become the friend of the whites. His 
daughter and her husband went to England, where she 
was admitted to see the queen, but she died as she was 
about to return. 

Opechancanough, the successor of Powhatan, was 
said to be originally from the south, and some have 
conjectured that he was of I\Ie.xican descent, as his 
appearance is described to have differed from that of 
the other Indians of the Powhatan confederacy. He 
was a man of more than ordinaiy abilities, and burned 
with a desire to rid his country of those whom he 
viewed as invaders of her soil. In 1622, he concerted 
a plan for a general massacre, hoping even to effect 
the entire extermination of the colony. The plot was 
deeply laid, and planned with great skill. All the 
members of the confederacy had their several parts 
assigned them. At the time the plot was formed, many 
of the Indians mingled with the whites for the purpose 
of ascertaining the avenues by which to gain access to 
the town, and the means of striking the blow with 
most effect. 


THE INDIANS OF VIRGINIA. 


153 


On the appointed day, the 22d of March, about noon, 
while the people were at work, and mostly unarmed, the 
Indians rushed upon them, and at once massacred three 
hundred and forty-seven men, women, and children. 
So well devised was the plan, that, but for its being 
betrayed, the whole colony, including Jamestown, must 
have been cut off at a blow. A Christian Indian, who 
had been solicited by his brother to kill a Mr. Pace, 
with whom he then lived, informed him of the plot, 
and, though not in season to save hundreds from fall- 
ing victims to the savage enemy, yet intelligence was 
sent to Jamestown, and the people, in many instances, 
were seasonably put upon their guard. The Indians, 
finding they were betrayed, did not attempt an attack 
upon the town, but plundered and burned the unde- 
fended houses, the mills and iron works, and whatever 
else came in their way. 

The next autumn, the Virginians, in their turn, at- 
tacked the Indians, burned several of their towns, and 
took many thousand bushels of corn, which they found 
stored up for the winter. The consequence of this was, 
that the Indians were greatly distressed, and suffered 
much for want of food and the necessaries of life. The 
succeeding July, the war was carried on with still more 
vigor ; four or five separate parties were appointed to 
attack the Indians at different points, and many were 
slain, among whom were some of their kings and war- 
captains. These disasters at once disheartened and 
weakened them. Still, they continued to seize upon 
every alvantage that offered, and, in 1630, Opechan- 
canougb , observing that the colony was in a state of 
disunion and anarchy, formed a plan for another sur- 
prise and massacre. 


154 


THE INDIA OF VIHGINIA. 


The experience they had so dearly bought should 
have made the colonists vigilant, and put them upon 
their guard at all times. But they seem, at this period, 
to have relapsed into a state of fatal confidence or in- 
difference. The Indians fell upon the settlers, princi- 
pally on the south side of James River, and at the 
head of York River, and so carefully had they con- 
cealed their design, so well was it arranged, and so 
resolutely executed, that they cut off five hundred of 
the colonists at a blow. This was a dreadful event to 
the infant settlement, and seems, at first, to have almost 
entirely disheartened the survivors. A long and bloody 
war followed, with various results, till, finally, the In- 
dians being defeated, and tired of the strife, a peace 
was once more made, which continued unbroken for 
many years. The death of Opechancanough, the mas- 
ter spirit of the savages, and the implacable foe of 
the colony, doubtless contributed to this end. Every 
contest also taught the Indians the power of European 
discipline, and they at last learned that the field of 
battle was the grave of their warriors, and that even a 
successful war always resulted in a diminution of their 
strength. 

No very striking event succeeded, in the history of 
the Virginia colony, till the year 1675, when the In- 
dians again began to rob and murder the colonists. 
Intestine divisions raged, and they seemed, in their 
broils, to forget that an enemy lurked around them, 
who might take fatal advantage of their unguarded and 
feeble condition. Although the Indians dared not ap- 
pear, as they had formerly done, in the very heart of 
the settlements, — for these had increased, and the tribes 


THE INDIANS OF VIRGINIA. 


155 


had been driven back into the interior, — yet they 
attacked those who dwelt on the frontiers, wasted their 
fields, burned their houses, and committed other rava- 
ges. The colonists were in no condition to avenge 
themselves of these outrages. Had the Indians, indeed, 
known the full extent of their weakness, they might 
have been emboldened to still more daring invasions ; 
but, being successfully attacked by the whites, after a 
brief conflict, they were glad to accept of peace. 
The ascendency of the English being once established, 
the tribes gradually wasted away, and it would now be 
difficult to find a remnant of the once powerful people 
6y which the eastern portion of Virginia was formerly 
inhabited. 

The tract of country first called Virginia embraced 
more than is now comprised in the limits of the State ; 
and as a part of North Carolina was included in its 
boundaries, it may be proper, in this connection, to no- 
tice the history of the Indians who occupied this region. 

North Carolina was first discovered by Sir Walter 
Raleigh, in 1584. In the account given by him, it 
seems the Indian name of this region was Winganda- 
coa, the king being called Wingina. His chief town 
was six days’ journey from Wococon. His brother, 
Ganganameo, resided at a village on the Roanoke. The 
third day after the English arrived, some natives ap- 
peared, and one of them went on board of the ships. 
The English gave him a shirt, some wine, and plenty 
to eat. He paddled away, and, having laden his boat 
with fish, returned, and divided them into two parts, 
meaning one portion for one ship, and the rest for the 
other. The next day Ganganameo came to see them, 


156 


THJi INDIANS OF VIRGINIA. 


with fifty men, spread out his mat on the point, without 
any apparent fear, and, sitting down, made signs to the 
English to sit down with him. He then stroked his 
head and breast, and theirs also in a gentler manner, 
thus signifying, that; henceforth, their heads and hearts 
should be one. He made a long speech, and they pre- 
sented him with some toys, which greatly pleased him. 
They then opened a trade, and he gave them twenty 
deer-skins for a pewter basin ; a sample of the deal- 
ings between the English and natives. The chief made 
a hole through the basin, and hung it about his neck 
for a breastplate. He also gave fifty more skins for 
a copper kettle. 

Some days after this interview, Ganganameo came 
again with his wife and children. They were of a low 
stature, but quite handsome. His wife wore a coat 
and short apron of leather, and a band of white coral 
about her forehead, with ear-rings of pearls as large as 
peas, and hanging down to her waist. He was him- 
self dressed in the same manner, except that his hair 
was long on one side, and cut short on the other. The 
English, in return, went to see him ; but, as the chief 
was absent, his wife ran to meet them, and, as they 
approached the shore, ordered her people to take 
them on their backs to the land. The season being 
rainy, she had their boat drawn up on the bank. Her 
visiters were then taken into her house, where she 
washed their clothes and feet. After they had warm- 
ed and dried themselves by a fire, she took them into 
another room, where a dinner was prepared, consisting 
of various dishes, — boiled venison, roots, melons, and 
other fruits. When they returned to their boats, she 


TKS INDIANS OF VIRGINIA. 


157 


gave them mats to shield them from the rain. Well 
might these voyagers say, as they did, A more kind 
and loving people cannot be.” 

Notwithstanding this favorable view, it appears, that, 
subsequently,-the North Carolina Indians were more or 
less enlisted in the various enterprises of the natives 
against the colony of Virginia, of which an account has 
already been given, and, to some extent, shared the 
fortunes of their countrymen. In 1712, a part of them, 
the Corees, Tuscaroras, and others, formed a league 
for the purpose of expelling the colonists, who had now 
encroached upon their territories. Their plan was ar- 
ranged with great secrecy and cunning. To secure 
their own families, they surrounded their principal town 
with a breastwork. Here the warriors of the different 
tribes met, to the number of twelve hundred bowmen. 
The plan was matured, and the time fixed for the 
massacre. When the fatal night came, small parties 
went out by different roads, and, under the mask of 
friendship, were admitted to the houses of the colon- 
ists. Rising at a preconcerted signal, they slaughtered 
men, women, and children, without distinction. To pre- 
vent discovery or alarm, they ran as speedily as possi- 
ble from house to house, hastening the bloody work. 

In the vicinity of Roanoke, they thus butchered one 
hundred and thirty-seven persons in a single night. A 
few escaped and gave the alarm, by which means the 
settlements were preserved from extincticn. Nearly 
one thousand troops were immediately raised in South 
Carolina, by whom the Indians were pursued. On 
coming up with them, a severe battle was fought, in 
which three hundred Indians were slain, and one hun- 

XI. — 14 


158 


THE INDIANS OF VIRGIN .A. 


dred taken prisoners. It was supposed that nearly 
one thousand of the Indians were finally killed, wound- 
ed, and captured. After this event, the remnant of 
the Tuscaroras fled to the Five Nations, with whom 
they became incorporated. From this period, the 
northern confederacy assumed the title of the Six Na- 
tions. 

In Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, and the 
part of New York below the Highlands, there were 
likewise numerous tribes of Indians. It is said that 
there were not less than thirty kings within these lim- 
its, and the whole number of Indians is computed by 
Dr. Trumbull to have been about 10,000, and the war- 
riors 2,000. The principal tribes were the Manhattans 
and the Delawares, or, as they are often termed, the 
Lenni Lenape. The peaceful policy of William Penn 
prevented any Indian wars in the early settlement of 
Pennsylvania, though another cause doubtless contrib- 
uted to this result. The Five Nations had subdued the 
Lenni Lenape, obliged them to put themselves under 
their protection, deprived them of the power of making 
war, and confined them to the raising of corn, hunting, 
and fishing. To use the Indian phrase, they had been 
thus reduced to the state of women. The interior por- 
tion of Virginia had also been subjected to the same 
sway. 

Many of the Indians of whom we are now speaking 
were greatly benefited by the missionary labors of 
David Brainerd, who instructed them in Christianity. 
Numbers became professors of religion, and were 
bright examples of the power of the gospel even over 
the savage heart. The Moravians, also, at a still later 


THE INDIANS OF VIRGINIA. 


159 


date, were not less successful, and the account of their 
residence among the Indians, as related by Hecke- 
welder and others, deserves a careful perusal. The 
history of these Indians, however, is similar to that of 
the tribes in other quarters, when brought in contact 
with the whites. They wasted away in the ‘Competi- 
tion with a master race, and not a vestige of them 
is left upon their original domains. 



i 






V 


•<'. ■, » ' ■ ' ' r ■ f • - ' v'^ “■ 

. ' ' . . ^ , ■ - « *v' < ^ • 



THE SOUTHERN INDIANS 


The Southern Indians, in the Carolinas, Georgia, 
and Florida, were composed of many different tribes. 
Of these, the most distinguished were the Catawbas, 
Cherokees, Choctaws, Chickasaws, and Creeks. In 
1671, the Cherokees in South Carolina were estimated 
at 6,000 bowmen. It is thought that the Corees, Sto- 
noes, Westoes, Savannas, Yamassees, Catawbas, and 
Congarees could not Lave been less numerous, and that, 
in this colony alone, there were as many as 35 or 
86,000 Indians, including 12,000 warriors. The Creeks 
numbered about 25,000. The Chickasaws, Alabamas, 
and Natchez were computed at 10,476 fighting men,' 
and the whole population at 31,128 souls. The Natchez 
, 'Were once a great nation, and were able, at one time, 
to raise not less than 4,000 warriors. 

These Indians, as well as the others, viewed with 
jealousy the settlements of the wdiites, and were, from 
time to time, more or less engaged in attacks upon the 
colonists, whom they greatly annoyed in their infant 
state. They also carried on war with the Five Na- 
tions, and many remarkable feats of their valor are 
related. One of those deserves to be mentioned. A 


THE SOUTHERN INDIANS. 


161 


party of Senecas, in an excursion far south, near the 
territories of the Catawbas, discovered a young hunter 
in a light summer dress. They intercepted him, and 
he ran towards a hollow for the purpose of conceal- 
ing himself. He was swift of foot, and so skilful in 
archery, that he shot down seven of his pursuers before 
they were able to capture him. They then took him 
to their own country, and there he was condemned, in 
a council of warriors, to die by torture. 

On being led out to the stake where he was to be 
burned alive, he suddenly collected his strength, dashed 
down his nearest enemies, sprang to the waters of a 
neighbouring stream, plunged in, and swam underneath, 
rising only at intervals to take breath, till he reached the 
shore. The Senecas followed him through the water, 
and fired their guns, but they were at such a distance 
they could not reach him. He stopped for a moment 
or Uvo, contemptuously sehthem at defiance, and then 
fled into the forest. Closely pursued, he ran on till 
midnight, and then lay by among the bushes, liiding 
himself under some Io2;s. 

Five of his enemies came near, and, kindling their 
fire, lay down to sleep. He watched them earnestly, 
till they were all in a sound slumber. He then silently 
crawled to the place, seized a tomahawk, and, by a 
sudden attack, killed them, and scalped them. He 
then clothed himself in the dress of one of them, took 
their guns, ammunition, and provisions, and pursued his 
wav. Still he was not satisfied with his revenge, but 
v/ent directly to the spot where he had killed the seven 
Senecas, dug up the bodies from their graves, scalped 
them, burned them to ashes, and went home in tri* 

. .11 . . 14 * 


162 


THE SOUTHERN INDIANS. 


umph. Another party of the Senecas afterwards 
came up, but finding the five warriors whom he had 
killed and scalped, they gave up the pursuit. A war- 
rouncil was called, and it was determined, that a man 
who could do such things must be a wizard, whom 
it was vain to pursue or oppose. 

In 1715, there was a general conspiracy and tising 
of the Southern Indians, especially those in South 
Carolina. The league comprised the Yamassees, a pow- 
erful tribe, the Creeks, Cherokees, Apalachians, Ca- 
tawbas, Congarees, and all the Indians from Florida to 
Cape Fear River. The object of this extensive con- 
spiracy was the total destruction of the Carolinians. 
The 15th of April was the day fixed upon for its exe- 
cution. The whole plot was managed with such se- 
crecy and under such a guise of friendship, that the 
English had not the least suspicion of treachery. Even 
traders among them slept the very night before with 
the king and his war-captains, in the chief town of the 
Yamassees. 

All was peace and silence until the morning. They 
then burst f(?'’th, fell on the traders, and killed them 
all at a single volley, except one man and a boy. The 
nation immediately rose in arms, and proclaimed their 
designs of vengeance. The chiefs stimulated the young 
warriors, who caught their spirit, and poured forth like 
a torrent on the unsuspecting settlers. In a few hours 
they massacred a hundred men in the town of Pocatali- 
go and the neighbouring plantations. The man and 
boy, who were not killed at the first fire, made tiKnr 
escape to Port Royal, and the inhabitants generally fled 
on board a ship for Charleston. Some .other families, 
who wcr9 unable tQ cscap(^ were murdered. 


THE SOUTHERN INDIANS. 


163 


While the Yamassees were thus desolating the soiith- 
thern frontiers, the Congarees, Catawbas, and Chero- 
kces came down in great force on the north. The 
southern division of the Indians in this war was com- 
puted at 6,000 bowmen, and the northern at 600 cr 
1,000. A company, which was sent against the northern 
division, was betrayed by the treachery of an Indian ; 
the captain was slain, and his party defeated. In one 
place, seventy whites and about forty negroes, having 
bravely defended their post against the northern di- 
vision, capitulated, and, after their surrender are said 
to have’been perfidiously massacred. Flushed with their 
success, the Indians went on burning, murdering, and 
plundering. They were soon, however, met by a band 
of militia, raised on the emergency, and totally defeated. 

The governor of South Carolina advanced with an 
army, and, at a place called Saltcalches, a bloody battle 
was fought. The Indians, uttering fearful war-cries 
and yells, sometimes retired behind the bushes, and 
then, when the English were beginning to be encour- 
aged with the hope of success, they returned to the 
fight with redoubled fury. They were, however, at 
last wholly defeated, and driven across the Savannah 
River. The Yamassees, despairing of being able to 
expel or exterminate the whites, and cherishing a spirit 
of bold independence, fled to Florida, where they 
were afterwards troublesome to the settlements in that 
vicinity. 

In April, 1730, a commissioner was sent to treat 
with the Cherokees. A general assembly of the chiefs 
was thereupon summoned, who swore allegiance to 
King George. A treaty was made, which was kept in> 


164 


THK SOUT. ERN INDIANS. 


violate by the Indians for thirty years. In 1760, they 
again made war on the English. Parties of them 
had assisted in the expedition against Fort du Quesne. 
In that enterprise they were treated with coldness and 
neglect, and felt themselves insulted. Returning home, 
as many of the warriors had lost their horses, they 
caught and appropriated such as they found loose in 
the woods. The Virginians, roused by these aggres- 
sions, fell on them, killed twelve or fifteen, and took 
several prisoners. 

The Cherokees were at once kindled into rage ; 
they went home, and told their wrongs to theirmation. 
The relatives of those who were slain breathed noth- 
ing but revenge. The French emissaries secretly 
fanned the flame, and added fresh fuel to their angry 
passions. The young warriors rushed down on the 
frontier settlements, and committed ravages on the de- 
fenceless inhabitants. They attacked the troops sta- 
tioned at Fort Loudon, a portion of whom were killed, 
and the remainder confined within the fort. Still, the 
nation generally were averse to war, particularly as 
they heard that the English were making great prepara- 
tions to attack them. They therefore sent thirty-two 
of their chief men to settle the difficulties in an amicable 
manner. The governor of North Carolina received 
them haughtily, and overwhelmed them with reproach- 
es. Ouconnostota, who was considered a great war- 
rior in the Cherokee nation, began to reply, but the 
governor would not hear him. This treatment greatly 
exasperated the Indians, who had now a new insult ad- 
ded to their other wrongs. The governor soon after 
marched for the country of the Congarees, 140 milea 


THE SOUTHERN INDIANS. 


165 


^rom Charleston, taking with him the Cherokee sachems, 
who were detained as prisoners, a guard being set over 
them. On reaching Fort George, they were shut up 
in a hut scarcely fit to accommodate a dozen soldiers, 
and were not allowed to see their friends, or even 
enjoy the light of day. 

Hero the governor opened a conference with the 
Indians, who had been assembled for the purpose. 
He had sent, among others, for Attakullakulla, or Little 
Carpenter, who was esteemed the wisest man in the 
nation, and the most attached of all to the English. 
By his request, Ouconnostota and two more of the 
chiefs were set free. Two others, who were delivered 
up as hostages, being put in irons, the Cherokees 
were alarmed and fled. Attakullakulla returned home 
to await the result. He was, however, soon summoned 
back, and finally a treaty was signed by the governor, 
and the head men of the Cherokees. Still, the remem- 
brance of the treatment they had received lay deeply 
buried in the breasts of the Indians ; and Attakullakulla, 
on account of his known attachment to the English, 
had little influence with them. 

Ouconnostota, under a sense of his wrongs, was im- 
placable and vindictive. He collected his warriors, 
made a fierce attack on the whites, killed fourteen men 
near Fort George, and besieged the garrison. He 
also contrived a stratagem to surprise the fort. He 
sent two Indian women, who were always welcome there, 
to decoy out the garrison ; the lieutenant went forth 
to inquire the news, when Oitconnostota joined them, 
saying that he wished to see the commanding officer 
on important business. Accordingly, the captain, lieu 
tenant and ensign went out to meet him. The chief 


166 


THE SOUTHERN INDIANS. 


said he was going to Charleston to procure a release 
of prisoners, and wished a white man for a safeguard. 

The request seemed reasonable, and the captain 
told him he should have one. No sooner was the 
answer returned, than Ouconnostota gave the signal 
(igreed on, and nearly thirty guns were at once dis- 
charged on the English. The captain was killed, and 
the lieutenant and ensign were wounded. This treach- 
ery so exasperated the garrison, that the hostages in the 
fort were immediately put to death. In the evening, 
the Indians approached the fort, and, after firing their 
guns, and crying out in the Cherokee language, “ Fight 
manfully and you shall be assisted,” they made a most 
furious attack, which they kept up all night. But they 
were so well met by the fire of the troops within the 
fort, that they were obliged to retire. 

Disappointed in this project, they turned their rage 
upon the Indian traders, and massacred them. The 
war now became general ; large parties of warriors 
fell on the defenceless frontiers, and cut off many 
families. About 200 of them attacked the fort at 
Ninety-Six, but were obliged to retire with loss. In 
the mean time an expedition was planned against the 
Indians ; and presents were given to such Creeks, 
Chickasaws, and Catawbas, as joined in the war against 
the Cherokees. Their towns in the lower settlement 
were attacked and destroy3d, and many of the natives 
olain. After this, a message was sent to Fort Loudon, 
requesting the commanding officers to use their best 
endeavours to obtain peace with the Cherokees of the 
upper towns. But they were unsuccessful, and an at- 
tack on the middle settlements was therefore resolved 
upon. 


THE SOUTHERN INDIANS. , 


167 


On the third day, as the army were advancing, the 
Cherokees made a most furious assault upon them. A 
long and obstinate fight ensued, but, finally, the In- 
dians gave way, and fled. The army immediately 
pressed forward to Etchowa, but the Indians had re- 
moved their property, and forsaken the town. Again 
. an attack was made, and the English, after a se- 
vere contest, though claiming the victory, found them- 
selves forced to retreat. Soon after this. Fort Loudon 
surrendered, and the Indians fell upon the garrison as 
they were marching homeward. All were slain ex- 
cept Captain Stewart, whom Atlakullakulla ransomed 
and sent home, at the price of nearly all he possessed. 
The conduct of the chief, in this case, forms a bright 
and beautiful passage in Indian history. 

The war with the Cherokees still continued, and the 
French sought with all their art to engage the Creeks 
and Choctaws against the English. A force of Scotch 
Highlanders, and a provincial regiment, with numbers 
of Chickasaws and Catawbas, who had been induced, 
by presents, to engage in the service, — the whole con- 
sisting of 2,600 men, — were now sent forward to Fort 
Prince George. Flere Atlakullakulla met them, and 
besought the commander to proceed no farther till he 
had used his endeavours to bring about a peace with 
his countrymen. But his entreaties were vain. The 
officer pioceeded, and the troops were attacked by the 
Cherokees, who rushed down from the high grounds 
with great fury. The battle was long and dubious ; 
the Indians, when repulsed at one point, assailed anoth- 
er, and the fight was maintained from nine to eleven* 
o’clock, when the Cherokees, overpowered by superior 
discipline, fled, and were pursued till two o’clock* 


168 


THE SOUTHERN INDIANS. 


Etchowa, and fourteen other towns of the middle set 
dements, were now utterly destroyed, together with 
several magazines of corn, and 1,400 acres of corn- 
fields. After ravaging the country, far and wide, the 
English returned to Fort Prince George. 

Soon after this, Attakullakulla and several chiefs 
went to the camp and expressed earnest wishes for 
peace. Articles were drawn up and interpreted, and 
Attakullakulla agreed to accept all but one, which he 
had no power from his nation to grant. This was, that 
four Cherokees should be delivered up, and put to 
death in front of the army. As they could not accede 
to this cruel demand, the chiefs were sent to Charles- 
ton to confer with the governor. He met them at 
Ashley Ferry, and gave them a welcome. The fire was 
kindled, and the pipe of peace was lighted and smok- 
ed, in silence and great solemnity. Then Attakulla- 
kulla rose up and made an eloquent and manly speech, 
saying, that he came as a messenger of peace ; that 
his people were in great distress ; that, though the 
English were their superiors, and lived in light, while 
they were in darkness, yet that one God was the Father 
of both ; that they lived in one country, and that he 
wished what had happened might now be forgotten, and 
that they might be as one people.” 

' A peace was thereupon established, and both parties 
expressed their wish that it might last as long as the 
rivers should run, or the sun shine. This was at the 
close of the year 1761. 

The Natchez were a powerful tribe of Indians, who 
inhabited that part of our country now called Louisi- 
ana. They differed, in many respects, from the rest 
of the Southern Indians, and many of their customs 


THE SOUTHERN INDIANS. 


169 


were singular. In their worship of the sun, they bore 
a strong resemblance to the ancient Peru\ians, and 
may, perhaps^ have had a common ancestry with 
them. But they were much more warlike, and occa- 
sioned great trouble to the French settlements in that 
vicinity. On one occasion, they formed a deep plan 
for the extermination of every Frenchman among 
them. A considerable time was taken in maturing it, 
and it was so complete in its details, that nothing but 
its discovery by a female, who was attached to the 
French, could probably have defeated its execution. 

A day was fixed upon, when the savages were to 
rise simultaneously and massacre the whites. Those 
who planned the enterprise, in order to insure unity of 
action, furnished a number of rods to each tribe ; one 
rod was to be taken from the collection every day, till 
there remained but one, and this was to indicate the 
time for the massacre. The w'oman, to whom we have 
alluded, in order to defeat the scheme of her people, 
took away one of these rods, and, as the Indians never 
counted them, a part of the Natchez began the massa- 
cre one day too soon. The French were thus apprized 
of the hostile design, and took measures to defeat it. 
Still, many of them fell victims to the fury of the In- 
dians. In revenge, the whites attacked them, and, in 
the end, this powerful tribe were nearly all destroyed, 
and their habitations reduced to ashes. These events 
took place in 1729. 

The settlements of the French on the Yazoo and 
Washita rivers were subjected to an attack similar to 
that just related, and with the like result. The Natchez, 
who survived the French retaliation of theii massacres, 
fled to the Chickasaws. 


XI. — 15 


INDIANS OF NEW ENGLAND. 


The tract of country known by the name of New 
England was formerly inhabited by numerous bands of 
Indians, though none of them equalled the more south- 
ern tribes. They were, however, warlike, and were 
led by chiefs of great ability. Dr. Trumbull computes 
the New England Indians as, at one time, amounting 
to 123,000. In the winter of 1617, the plague, or 
some other mortal disease, broke out among them, and 
almost depopulated the country. 

When the English first landed at Plymouth, they 
saw few indications of inhabitants. Yet the number 
of Indians in Massachusetts was probably not less than 
10,000 or 12,000, and in Rhode Island not less than 
8,000. The Pequods and Mohegans, in Connecticut, 
had about 1,000 warriors ; these, with others, made 
the Indian population there equal to about 12,000. In 
New Hampshire, there were probably about 4,000. 
The whole number of warriors in New England might 
be estimated at 12,000, upon the arrival of our ances 
tors at Plymouth. Had these been all united in hostil- 
ity against the strangers, they must have proved formi- 
dable enemies, indeed, to the little company landing on 
the coast in the h eak month of December. 


INDIANS OF NEW ENGLAND. 


171 


The Pequods were the most warlike of all the In- 
dians in New England. More than twenty kings were 
their tributaries. It was fortunate for the colonies that 
this tribe was not in the immediate vicinity of Ply- 
mouth. Their chief seat was in Connecticut. 

The Indians in the western part of this region were 
so often exposed to the incursions of the Mohawks, 
that they were not only weakened, but they lived in 
constant dread of their fierce and savage foe. This ter- 
rible enemy was wont to burst suddenly and unexpect- 
edly into their country, and, as they rushed upon their 
victims, they yelled in their ears, ‘‘ Hadree^ liadree 
succomce^ succomce^'' We come, we come to suck 
your blood ! The cry of “ The Mohawks ! the Mo- 
hawks ! ” was the most appalling sound that could 
assail the ears of these people. 

The Indians of Massachusetts were greatly exasper- 
ated by the conduct of a Captain Hunt, previous to the 
arrival of the pilgrims. He had enticed twenty-seven 
Indians on board of his ship, carried them off, and sold 
them as slaves. After they heard of the arrival of the 
colonists, they meditated their extermination, and held 
a powow, or council, in a swamp, where, for three 
days, they deliberated as to what they should do. Ac- 
cording to their usage, they cursed the white men ; but, 
not being aware of their weak condition, they did not 
venture to attack them. An overruling hand withheld 
them, and a voice spoke to them, though they knew 
not whence it came, “ Touch not my people, and do 
my servants no harm ! ” 

The landing at Plymouth took place on the 22d of 
December, 1620. On the 16th of March, 1621, Sam- 


172 


INDIANS OF NEW ENGLAND. 


oset — one of the Indians who had been kidnapped by 
the English, and found his way back to his people, and 
who had acquired some knowledge of our language — 
came to P y mouth, and saluted the colonists with the 
agreeable words, “Welcome, Englishmen!” We 
may imagine how joyfully they listened to his story, as 
he portrayed to them the kindly character of Massasoit, 
the sachem w’ho bore rule in that vicinity. For days 
exposed to cold, hunger, and sickness, they had waited 
the opening of spring, doubtless with many anxious 
fears as to wdiat evils might threaten them from the 
savages of the wilderness ; and to be now assured that 
the principal chief was kindly disposed must have been 
cheering indeed. 

Samoset was soon despatched to the sachem, charg- 
ed with a message of peace, and Massasoit himself, 
and his brother Quadequina, with sixty armed men, 
came to pay a visit to Governor Carver. After ex- 
chan^ino; hostages, Massasoit advanced to a brook with 
tw^enty unarmed men, where he was met by a file of 
musketeers, and was conducted to a house and seated 
on a green rug, with a number of cushions. Here the 
two chiefs saluted each other, kissed hands, and enter- 
ed into a league of friendship, commerce, and mutual 
defence. This treaty gave peace to all that part of 
the countiy, and Massasoit always continued to be a 
firm friend to the colonists. 

The first attack on the Europeans, by the Indians 
of New England, was at Connecticut, in 1636, by the 
Pequod tribe. They felt jealous of the strangers who 
had come upon their ancient soil, over which they had 
so long roamed as the sole possessors. With the hope. 


INDIANS OF NEW ENGLAND. 


173 


therefore, of expelling or exterminating the intruders, 
they attacked the fort at Saybrook, and slew and took 
captive the inhabitants of that early settlement. De- 
termined on more extensive and fatal measures against 
the colonists, the Pequods sought to gain over the adja- 
cent tribe of the Narragansets, with whom they had 
before carried on a bloody warfare. They represented 
to them that these foreigners were mere intruders, dis- 
possessing the original inhabitants, and that, unless, by 
a general combination, they were driven off or destroy- 
ed, they would become masters of the whole country. 
They also bade them reflect, that, if the English should 
destroy the Pequods, they would soon root out the Nar- 
ragansets themselves. 

In consequence of their attacks, the colonists felt 
it necessary to ‘take vigorous measures for carrying 
the war even into the intrenchments of the enemy. 
Captain Mason, with ninety Englishmen and seventy 
Mohegan and River Indians, who had been secured as 
allies, was accordingly despatched from Hartford, to 
search out the enemy, and give them battle. These 
were joined by Captain Underhill, of Saybrook, with 
nineteen men. 

On the 26th of May, 1637, Mason, after a fatiguing 
march, surprised Mystic, near the present town of 
Stonington, one of the principal Indian forts. After 
a volley from their fire-arms, they entered the place, 
sword in hand, their Indian allies leaving them to make 
the assault alone. Captain Mason, with his company, 
had approached on the east side, and Captain Under- 
hill, with his men, on the west side. When they were 
within about a rod of the fort, the barking of a dog 

15* 


174 


INDIANS OF NEW ENGLAND. 


awakened the sleeping sentinel, who cried out, “ Owan^ 
nux ! Owannux Englishmen! Englishmen! The 
Indians, roused by the cry, rallied, and fought bravely, 
and victory for a time hung in suspense, till Captain 
Mason, observing that the wigwams were covered with 
mats, or other combustible materials, had recourse to 
the expedient of setting them on fire. 

This decided the fate of the Pequods. In an hour, 
about seventy wigwams were destroyed, and most of 
the Indians, estimated at four or five hundred, were 
burned to death, shot down, or slain by the sword. 
Sassacus, the Pequod sachem, and his warriors, were 
so panic-struck by the loss of their fort and the de- 
struction of their men, that they burned their remain- 
ing wigwams and the royal fortress, and fled towards 
the Hudson River. They were pursued to a swamp 
near Fairfield, where another battle took place, in 
which the Pequods were entirely vanquished. The 
Mohawks, treacherously hired, as has been supposed, 
by the Narragansets, then fell upon the remnant of the 
tribe, and cut them to pieces. It was calculated, that, 
in the whole, not less than seven hundred Indians fell 
in this war. A few, who still lingered on their ancient 
grounds, at last united with the Mohegans, under Un- 
cas. This chief had shown himself a friend to the 
English, and some of his descendants have remained, 
till within a few years, among the few Mohegans who 
still hold lands in the vicinity of Norwich, Connecticut. 

This effort of the Pequods, under the renowned Sas- 
sacus, was the first great attempt of the Indians to 
destroy the settlers of New England. So speedy and 
torr ble was the retribution which followed this attempt, 


INDIANS OF NEW ENGLAND. 


175 


that the humbled Indians remained at peace for many 
years after. Other circumstances aided to promote 
this state of things. Sassacus, the monarch of the 
country, reigning over twenty Indian kings, had main- 
tained a long and successful war with Miantonimoh, 
the sachem of the Narragansets, and was an object 
of terror to that people. Miantonimoh and his nation, 
therefore, desired a league with the colonists, to defend 
them against the Pequods. Massasoit, also, and his 
people, had sought the same alliance as a defence 
against their bitter and dangerous foes, the Tarratines 
of Maine ; and all the New England Indians desired, 
especially, to secure themselves against the attacks 
of the terrible Mohawks. Thus mutual weakness and 
mutual feafs led to general peace. 

Attempts were early made by the colonists to in- 
struct the Indians in the Christian religion. About the 
year 1644, Mr. Mayhew and Mr. Eliot began, success- 
fully, to engage in labors for the conversion of the 
Indians on Martha’s Vineyard and at Natick. At first, 
there was great opposition by the sachems and powows, 
or priests, who used every effort to baffle and discour- 
age the devoted missionaries. But, in 1660, there 
were whole towns of praying Indians,” and in 1687, 
there were more than twenty assemblies of these sav- 
ages who worshipped the true God. Eliot, with vast 
labor, translated the Bible into the language of those 
among whom he preached. This was printed, and a 
copy of it may occasionally be found treasured up as 
a curiosity in our public libraries. In 1695, there were 
not less than 3,000 adult Indians, reckoned as converts 
to the Christian religion, in the islands of Martha’s 
ViDevard and Nantucket. 


176 


INDIANS OF NEW ENGLAND. 


About the year 1675, another Indian war began, 
which proved the most serious contest in which the 
colonists had ever been engaged. For several years 
previously, the Indians had been silently forming a 
general conspiracy for the extermination of the New 
England colonies. Massasoit, the good friend of 
the English, was dead, and his grandson Philip, sa- 
chem of the VVampanoags, whose chief seat was in 
Rhode Island, did not inherit the kindly feeling of his 
ancestor toward the whites. He was a m£in of great 
abilities, and, had his means been equal to his skill and 
bravery, the result might have proved fatal to the now 
flourishing colonies. 

A Christian Indian, named John Sausaman, discov- 
^ered to the English the mischiefs he was plotting 
against them. Philip, burning with rage that his 
plan should be revealed, caused Sausaman to be mur- 
dered. The English detected the murderers, appre- 
hended them, and after a trial, in which their guilt was 
sufficiently apparent, executed them. This still further 
incited Philip to revenge. On the 20th of June, he 
commenced open hostilities on the town of Swansey, 
near his territory. 

The torch of war, thus lighted, continued to rage 
over the whole extent of New England, for several 
yefars, with unabated fury. Its details would fill a 
volume. Philip,* who was the master spirit of the 
league against the whites, displayed a courage, sagaci- 
ty, and perseverance, worthy of a king and a patriot. 
Nor was he ill seconded by the tribes whom he drew 

* For the life of Philip and an account of the war, see “ Livea 
of Famous Indians ” 


INDIANS OF NEW ENGLAND. 


177 


into the conspiracy by his eloquence and his intrigues. 
Though often defeated, he was never discouraged, and, 
while his foe seemed about to trample him to the 
earth, he frequently arose with renewed vigor and more 
desperate resolution. He was at length slain, and, though 
the struggle was maintained for some time longer, it at 
last resulted in a general defeat of the Indians, from 
which they never recovered. The war had extended 
from Rhode Island to Maine, and, throughout the whole 
extent of this region, the smoke of the dwellings and 
the cries of the victims were seen and heard on every 
hand. Many of the most flourishing English villages 
were laid in ashes. The stru^g-le was not finished 
till the spring of 1678. Six hundred of the flower of 
the colonists perished, and three hundred houses were 
consumed. The Mohegans and a few other tribes re- 
mained friendly, but the rest shared in the war and its 
frtal consequences. 

The next efforts of the Indians against the New 
England colonies took place during the long and bloody 
wars between the French and English, called the wars 
of William and Queen Anne. In June, 1689, insti- 
gated by the French, they surprised Cocheco, part of 
he town of Dover, New Hampshire, and killed and 
took captive about fifty of the inhabitants. Th(jy be- 
gan depredations, also, in various parts of Maine, plun- 
deiing, burning, and carrying off captives, wherever 
they were able. For ten years the provinces of Nc^t 
Hampshire and Massachusetts were subjected to the fu- 
ry of the savages. Deerfield, on the Connecticut River, 
was surprised and burnt, forty persons were killed, 
and nearly a hundred men, women, and children 

12 


178 


INDIANS OF NEW ENGLAND. 


led away captive. The eastern settlements, also, were 

* 

again ravaged and depopulated. A treaty was at last 
concluded in the year 1699. From time to time, 
liowcver, the war was renewed, as the French often 
succeeded in engaging the Indians in ilieir plans. In 
1713, a peace having been agreed upon between the 
French and English, the Eastern Indians, who had 
again been involved in hostilities with the colonists, 
sent a flag, desiring peace. A general pacification 
ensued, to the great joy of all parties. 

We must now turn our attention to the severe con- 
test with the Indians along the northeastern border, 
which commenced in 1722. Before the subjugation 
of Canada by the British, the New England settlements, 
as we have seen, were exposed to the hostilities of the 
Eastern Indians, and a spirit of jealousy and revenge 
was kept up, not only between the different nations, but 
between individuals. The boundaries of the different 
territories being loosely defined, both sides vvere left ex- 
posed to real or fancied encroachments, so that pre- 
texts for war were always at hand. The French 
Jesuits had planted themselves among the Indian tribes 
at an earhv period ; and at the beginning of the eight- 
eenth century, they had two churches among the East- 
ern Indians, — one at Penobscot, and the other at 
Norndgewock, within the boundaries of the present 
State of Maine. 

At the latter settlement resided the Jesuit, Sebastian 
Rasle, a man of talent, learning, and address, who, by 
accommodating himself to the Indian mode of life, and 
maintaining a gentle, condescending deportment, had 
completely won the affection of the savages, and his in- 


INDIANS OF NEW ENGLAND. 


179 


fluence over them was supreme. Knowing the power 
of superstition over their minds, he took advantage of 
this, and of their prejudice against the English, to 
strengthen the interest of the French among them. 
He even made the offices of devotion serve as incen- 
tives to their ferocity ; he kept a banner, on which was 
depicted a cross surrounded by bows and arrows, 
which he was accustomed to hoist on a pole at the 
door of his church, and gave the Indians absolution, 
previous to their setting out on a warlike expedition. 

The governor of Canada held a constant correspon- 
dence with this Jesuit, and received through his hands 
information of every thing that transpired among the 
tribes in that quarter. From these individuals the 
savages received every encouragement to assert their 
title to lands occupied by the English, and to molest 
the settlers, by killing their cattle, burning their hay- 
stacks, and robbing and insulting them. Many of the 
inhabitants, alarmed by these demonstrations of hostili- 
ty, removed from the frontiers in 1720. The garri- 
sons were reinforced, and scouting parties were sent 
abroad, which checked for a time the hostile move- 
ments of the Indians, who were compelled, the same 
year, to give hostages for their good behaviour. This 
last requisition was highly disrelished by the governor 
of Canada, who renewed his efforts to keep up the 
quarrel, and secretly promised to supply the Indians 
with arms and ammunition, although, as Great Britain 
and France were not then at war, he could not openly 
assist them. The New England governments obtained 
information of these intrigues; yet, though highly in- 
censed, they judged it best not to rush into ho'^tUIties. 


180 


INDIANS OF NEW ENGLAND. 


The 'main dispute lay between the Indians and the 
proprietors of the eastern lands, and the public were 
not directly concerned in it. No blood had as yet 
been shed within the limits of the English territory. 

Rasle was considered the principal instigator of the 
Indians, and it was thought, that, if he were removed, 
all would be quiet. A proposal was made to send the 
sheriff of York County with a posse of a hundred and 
fifty men, to seize him and bring him to Boston, but 
this bold stroke was not ventured upon. In the sum- 
mer of 1721, Rasle, in company with the Count de 
Castine from Penobscot, and Croisil from Canada, ap- 
peared at one of the English garrisons, and presented 
a letter, written in the name of the several Indian 
tribes to Governor Shute of Massachusetts, declaring, 
that, ‘‘ if the English did not remove in three weeks, 
they would kill them and their cattle, and burn their 
houses.” The lands in question were comprehended 
within the limits of the English patents, and the set- 
tlers were considered the only legal proprietors. They 
had been accustomed to obtain regular deeds of sale 
from the Indians, and pay them a valuable considera- 
tion ; but some of these titles were from an obscure and 
questionable source ; and the memory of such transac- 
tions is soon lost among people possessing no written 
records. The Indians easily forget the sales made by 
their ancestors, or imagine that such bargains are not 
binding upon their posterity. 

The Massachusetts government, on receiving this 
menacing epistle, sent an additional force to the Maine 
frontiers ; and, being desirous to avoid a rupture, invited 
the Indians to a conference, from which the French 


INDIANS OF NEW ENGLAND. 


181 


emissaries were to be excluded. This invitation was 
treated with neglect ; and in the succeeding winter, a 
party under Colonel Westbrooke was ordered to Nor- 
ridgewock to seize Rasle. They reached the village 
undiscovered; but, before they could surround his house, 
he had escaped into the woods, leaving his papers in 
his strong box, which they brought away, without com- 
mitting any act of violence. Among these papers 
were his letters of correspondence with the governor 
of Canada which afforded positive proof that he was 
deeply engaged in intrigues to incite the Indians to 
hostilities. The s?vages were enraged at this attempt 
to seize their spiritual father, and resolved upon re- 
venge. In the summer of 1722, they made a descent 
upon the settlements at Merry-Meeting Bay, and cap- 
tured nine families ; dismissing some of the prisoners, 
they retained enough to secure the redemption of their 
hostages in the hands of the English, and sent them 
off to Canada. Their next attack was on the fort at 
St. George, on tlie Androscoggin, where they were re- 
pulsed with considerable loss. They afterwards sur- 
prised some fishing vessels in the eastern harbours, 
and at length made a furious attack on the town of 
Brunswick, which they destroyed. These hostilities 
determined the government of Massachusetts to issue a 
declaration of war against them, which was published 
in form, at Boston and Portsmouth, on the 25th of July, 
1722. 

Troops were raised and enlisted for two years’ ser- 
vice, and the government had no scruples in offering 
a bounty of forty pounds sterling for every Indian 
scalp. This war obtained the name of “ Lovewell’s 

XI. — 16 


182 


INDIANS OF NEW ENGLAND. 


War,” from Captain John Love well, of Dunstable, in 
New Hampshire, who was the most prominent com- 
mander in the enterprise against the enemy, and was 
killed in a severe engagement. Various incursions 
were made upon the settlements by the Indians during 
the year 1723, and several of the inhabitants were 
killed and carried into captivity. On the 10th of June, 
1724, a farmer and his son, being at work on Oyster 
River, planting corn, went to a brook to drink, and dis- 
covered three Indian packs. They immediately ran 
to give information to a company of volunteers, which 
had lately been raised in the neighbourhood, for the 
defence of the frontier. The company marched to- 
wards the spot, but were fired upon from an ambush, 
and the farmer and his son, who acted as guides, were 
both killed. The company then fired and killed one 
of the Indians, and wounded two others who made 
their escape, though they were pursued and tracked 
by their blood to a considerable distance. The slain 
Indian was a person of distinction, and wore a species 
of coronet, made of fur, dyed scarlet, with an appen- 
dage of four small bells, by the sound of .which the 
others might follow him through the thickets. His 
hair, contrary to what is almost universal among the 
natives, was remarkably soft and fine ; and he had 
about him a devotional book, and a muster-roll of one 
hundred and eighty Indians. From these various cir- 
cumstances, it was supposed that he was a natural son 
of the Jesuit, Rasle, by an Indian woman, who served 
him as a domestic. 

Garrison-houses were built among the frontier set- 
tlements, to which the inhabitants were warned to ro« 


INDIANS OF NEW ENGLAND. 


183 


pair in time of danger. At Dover there were many 
families of Quakers, who, doubting the lawfulness of 
war, could not be persuaded to use any means for their 
defence, although the Indians never spared them on that 
account. One of these, John Hanson, lived remote from 
the garrison, and refused to take shelter in it with his 
family, although he had a large number of children. 
A party of thirteen Indians, called French Mohawks, 
had marked his house for their prey, and lay several 
days in ambush, waiting for an opportunity to attack 
it. On the 27th of June, while Hanson and his eldest 
daughter were gone to attend the w'eekly meeting, and 
his two eldest sons were at work in a meadow at some 
distance, the Indians entered the house, killed and 
scalped two small children, and took his wife, with her 
infant of fourteen days old, her nurse, two daughters, 
and a son, and, after rifling the house, carried them off. 
This was done so suddenly and secretly, that the first 
person who discovered it was the eldest daughter, on 
her return from the meeting. Seeing the two children 
dead at the door, she uttered a shriek of distress, 
which was distinctly heard by her mother, then in 
the hands of the enemy among the bushes, and by 
her brothers in the meadow. The people, being soon 
alarmed, went in pursuit of the enemy; but the In- 
dians, cautiously avoiding all beaten paths, went ofl.' 
with their captives undiscovered. The mother, though 
of a tender constitution, had a firm and vigorous mind, 
and passed through the various hardships of an Indian 
captivity with much resolution and patience. When 
lier milk failed, she supported her infant with water 
warmed in her mouth, till the squaws taught her to 


184 


INDIANS OF NEW ENGLAND. 


beat the kernel of walnuts and boil it willi bruised 
corn, which proved a nourishing food for the babe. 
The prisoners were all sold to the French in Canada. 
Hanson redeemed them the following year, one daugh- 
ter remaining behind. 

These and other outrages of the enemy caused the 
government of Massachusetts to resolve on an expe- 
dition af^ainst the Indian town of Norridp-ewock. Two 
hundred men, under Captains Moulton and Harman, 
marched from York in August. They left forty of 
their men at Teconic Falls, on the Kennebec, and, di- 
viding the remainder into two bodies, one of them, 
under Harman, took a circuitous route, hoping to sur- 
prise some of the enemy in their cornfields, while the 
other, under Moulton, marched directly'for the village 
of Norridgewock, which, being surrounded by trees, 
could not be seen till they were close upon it. All the 
Indians were in their wigwams, and the English ad- 
vanced cautiously and in perfect silence. When they 
had approached very near, an Indian came out of his 
wigwam, and, discovering the English, set up the w^ar- 
w^hoop, ran in, and seized his gun. In a few minutes 
the warriom were all in arms, and advanced to meet 
them. Moulton gave orders not to fire till the Indians 
bad made the first discharge. This w'as done; and, 
as he expected, they overshot the English, who then 
immediately fired with great execution. After another 
volley had been exchanged, the savages fled with 
precipitation to the river. They were pursued and 
slaughtered in every quarter, and their w'igwa ms set on 
fire. Moulton wished to take Rasle alive, and gave 
stri2t orders that no one should kill him. But the 


INDIANS OF NEW ENGLAND. 


]85 


having shut liimself up in his house, from which 
he continued to fire upon the English, one of them 
burst Into it, and shot him through the head. They 
then set fire to the church, which was a handsome 
structure, and brought away the plate and furniture of 
the altar, with the devotional banner, as trophies of 
thei victory. Eighty of the Indians were killed in this 
attack, and three English captives rescued. 

The fate of Norrido;ewock struck great terror into 
the savages, and they no longer thought themselves 
safe at any of their former places of abode, but occu- 
pied. them as resting-places only, when they were 
scouting or hunting. This successful undertaking, and 
the large premium offered for scalps, brought several 
volunteer. companies into the field. In December, Cap- 
tain Lovewell, with thirty men, made an excursion to 
the north of Lake Winnipiseogee. They discovered an 
Indian wigwam, in which were a man and a boy. 
They killed and scalped the man, and brought the boy 
alive to Boston, where they received the reward prom- 
ised by the government, and a considerable gratuity 
besides. This company was soon increased to seven- 
ty, and Lovewell marched again, early in 1725, toward 
the head of Salmon-Fall River. Their provision fall- 
ing short, thirty of them, selected by lot, were dis- 
missed, and returned home. The remaining forty 
continued their march till the 20th of February, wl f n 
they discovered a track, Avhich they followed till tl ry 
saw a smoke, jus< before sunset ; from this they jud^-^d 
that the enemy ware encamped for the night. Tney 
kept themselves concealed till after - midnight, when 
they cautiously advanced, and discovered ten Indians 

16 * 


186 


INDIANS OF NEW ENGLAND. 


asleep round a fire, by the side of a frozen pond. 
Lovewell now determined to make sure work, and, 
stationing his men conveniently, ordered five of them 
to fire in rapid succession, and the remainder to re- 
serve their shot. He gave the signal by discharging his 
own gun, which killed two Indians ; and the men, firing 
according to order, despatched five more on the spot. 
The remaining three started up from their sleep, but 
two of them were immediately shot dead by the re- 
serve, and the other was wounded. He attempted to 
escape across the pond, but was seized by a dog, who 
held him fast until the English came up and despatch- 
ed him. Thus, in the space of a few minutes, the 
whole party was destroyed, and an attempt against 
the frontiers of New Hampshire prevented ; -r- for these 
Indians were marching from Canada, well furnished 
with new guns and plenty of ammunition for that ob- 
ject ; they had also a number of spare blankets, moc- 
casins, and snow-shoes, for the use of the prisoners 
•whom they expected to take. The pond near which 
these events transpired is now known as Lovewell’s 
Pond. The company, with their ten scalps stretched 
on hoops, in the Indian fashion, marched to Boston in 
great triumph, and received their bounty out of the 
public treasury. The English spoke of this enterprise 
with great exultation, and pronounced it a capital ex- 
ploit. In the light of the present day, the barbarity 
of giving a premium for scalps would be justly cen- 
sured. 

This brilliant success, as it was then termed, encour- 
aged Lovewell to his last and, fatal undertaking. Early 
5n March, he again took the field, intending to attack the 


INDIANS OF NEW ENGLAND. 


187 


Yidian villages of Piguacket, on the upper part of the 
Jaco, where a formidable tribe had anciently a settled’ 
habitation, though at this period they only paid occa- 
sional visits there. His company consisted of forty-six 
men, including a chaplain and a surgeon. Two of them 
became lame, and returned. Another falling sick, 
they halted, and built a stockade fort on the west side 
of Great Ossipee Lake, partly for the accommodation 
of the sick man, and partly for a stronghold in case of 
any reverse. Here the surgeon was left with the in- 
valid man, and eight of the company for a guard. 
Lovewell, with his thirty-four men, advanced to the 
nortluvard about tv/enty-two miles, and encamped on 
the shore of a pond in the evening of the 7th of May. 
Early the next morning, while the men were at prayer, 
they heard the report of a gun, and discovered an In- 
dian about a mile distant, standing on a point of land 
jutting out into the water. They had been alarmed 
during the night by noises round their camp, which 
they imagined were made by Indians, and now sus- 
pected that the one whom they saw was placed there 
to decoy them, and that a body of the enemy was 
in their front. A council of war was held, and they 
decided to go forward, and, by marching lound the 
pond, to gain the spot where the Indian stood. That 
they might be ready for action, they disencumbered 
themselves of their packs, and left them, without any 
guard, in a pine plain, where the trees were too thinly 
set to hide them. 

Lovewell, on his march, had crossed a carrying- 
place, by which two garties of Indians, consisting of 
forty-one warriors, commanded by the noted chiefs 


188 


INDIANS OF NEW ENGLAND. 


Paugus and Wahwa, who had been on a scout down 
the Saco, were returning to the lower village of 
Piguacket, about a mile and a half from the pond. 
Having fallen on Lovewell’s track, they followed it, 
and came at last to the baggage, which they carried off. 
On counting the packs, they found the number of the 
English to be less than that of their own force. They 
therefore placed themselves in ambush to attack them 
on their return. The Indian who had stood on the 
point, and was returning to the village by another path, 
met the English and received their fire, which he re- 
turned, and wounded Lovewell and another person with 
small shot. By a second fire the Indian was killed, 
and they took his scalp. Seeing no other enemy, the 
company returned toward their packs, and, while they 
were searching for them, the Indians sprang from their 
ambush and ran towards them with a horrid yell. A 
smart firing commenced on both sides, and Lovewell 
was speedily slain, with eight others. Several of the 
Indians fell, but, being superior in numbers, they were 
by no means daunted, and endeavoured to surround the 
English, who, perceiving their design, retreated, hop- 
ing to gain a shelter behind a point of rocks and some 
large pine-trees on the shore of the pond. Here they 
took their station, having on their right the mouth of a 
brook, and on their left the rocky point, — their front 
being partly covered by a deep bog, with the pond in 
their rear. 

The battle now recommenced. The Indians poured 
in their fire from front and flank, and had so much the 
advantage of position, that, by a little skill, they might 
have shot down every man of the English, or com- 


INDIANS OF NEW ENGLAND. 


189 


pelled them to surrender at discretion, as they were 
totally unable to extricate themselves, and were entirely 
destitute of provisions. Under the conduct of Lieutenant 
Wyman, the latter kept up their fire, and maintained a 
resolute countenance the remainder of the day, — the 
action having begun a little after ten in the morning. 
The chaplain and three others were mortally wounded 
The Indians invited them to surrender by holding up 
ropes to them, and endeavoured to intimidate them by 
hideous yells ; but they determined to die rather than 
yield, and, by their well directed fire, the number of 
the savages was reduced, and their cries became faint- 
er, till, just before night, they quitted their advanta- 
geous ground, carrying off their killed and wounded, 
and leaving the dead bodies of Lovewell and his men 
unscalped. The shattered remnants of this brave com- 
pany, on coming together, found three of their num- 
ber unable to move from the spot, eleven wounded, 
but able to march, and nine unhurt. It was melan- 
choly to leave their dying companions behind, but 
there was no possibility of removing them. One of 
these. Ensign Robbins, desired them to lay his gun 
beside him loaded, that, if the Indians should return 
before his death, he might be able to kill one more. 

After the rising pf the moon, those who were able 
quitted the fatal spot, and directed their march toward 
the fort where the surgeon and guard had been left. To 
their great surprise, they found it abandoned. In the 
beginning of the action, one man had deserted and fled 
to the fort, where, in the style of Job’s messengers, he 
informed them of Lovewell’s death and the defeat of 
the whole company, upon which they made the best 


190 


INDIANS OF NEW ENGLAND 


of their way home, leaving a quantity of provisions, 
which proved a seasonable relief to the retreating sur- 
vivors. From this place they endeavoured to get 
home. Lieutenant Farwell, and the chaplain, who had 
the journal of the march in his pocket, and one other, 
perished in the woods, for want of a dressing for theii 
wounds. The others, after enduring the most severe 
nardships, reached the settlements, one after another. 
There were no white residents within fifty miles of the 
scene of the battle. 

A partj from the New Hampshire frontier was or- 
dered out to bury the dead. Fourteen bodies werf 
found, which were interred, and their names carved 
on the trees. Three Indian graves were discovered 
and opened ; one of them contained the body of the 
warrior-chief, Paugus.- Tracks of blood were traced 
to a great distance from the scene of action, but the 
exact loss of the enemy never was known. After 
this battle, the Indians abandoned the neighbourhood 
of Piguacket, and did not return till the war was over. 

A doggerel ballad, on the subject of Lovewell’s 
Fight,” made its appearance the same year that these 
events happened, and was for a long time very popular 
m New England. As the reader may wish to see a 
specimen of it, w^e quote the opening stanza, which is 
as follows. 

“ Of worthy Captain Lovewell I purpose now to sing, 

How valiantly he served his country and his king. 

He and his valiant soldiers did range the woods full wide. 
And hardships they endured to quell the Indian’s pride.’ 

We add the sixteenth stanza, as it notices a striking 
circumstance. 


INDIANS OF NEW ENGLAND. 


191 


“ Oui worthy Captain Lovewell among them there did die. 

They killed Lieutenant Robbins, and wounded good young 
Frye, 

Wht was our English chaplain ; he many Indians slew, 

And some of them he scalped, when bullets round him flew ** 

The following winter, four chiefs came to Boston to 
ratify the treaty which followed these hostilities. The 
government of the colonies prohibited all private traffic 
with the Indians, as it had been the cause of many 
troubles. Truck-houses were established in convenient 
places, at which they were supplied with all the neces- 
saries of life on advantao:eous terms. Though the 
government was a loser by the trade, this was deemed 
the most economical method of preserving peace, and 
it seems fully to have accomplished its purpose. 

The natives throughout the New England provinces, 
now thinned and weakened, while the English had 
gained strength and extended their settlements in every 
direction, made no more serious attempts upon the 
peace of the country. In the French wars, even down 
to the period just preceding the Revolution, it is true 
that incursions were occasionally made, but they pro- 
duced no lastiniT results. 

There are few Indians now remaining in the New 
England States. A small number of Mohegans still 
reside in the vicinity of Norwich, Connecticut, where 
they have a neat little church, and a missionary has 
labored among them with some success. A few Per 
nobscot Indians, too, are found in Maine, and here and 
there, in other places, may be met one or more of the 
descendants of the aborigines ; but they are like the last 
scattered leaves of autumn, — withered, decaying, and 
frozen by tf 3 wintry blasts ; spring finds them not again. 


THE FIVE NATIONS, &c 


This noted confederacy consisted of the Mohawks, 
Oneidas, OiSndagas, Gayugas, and Senecas. The 
•name given them, by the French writers, is the Iro- 
quois. Each nation was divided into three tribes or 
families, distinguished by their ensigns, as the Tortoise, 
the Bear, and the Wolf. Their original seat was the 
island of Montreal and its vicinity. Many years be- 
fore the French discovered Canada, they employed 
themselves in the peaceful pursuits of agriculture. 
The Adirondacks, who then dwelt about 300 miles 
from Trois Rivieres, where the Ottawas afterwards 
lived, pursued hunting, and exchanged their venison 
for the corn raised by the Five Nations. 

The Adirondacks, or, as they are more frequently 
called by the French, the Algonquins, despised th<? 
Five Nations, as a weak people, occupied with business 
fit only for women. But on a certain occasion, their 
game failed, and they employed some of the young men 
of the Five Nations to assist them in hunting. These 
soon became expert and capable of enduring fatigue 
beyond the Adirondacks themselves. The latter conse- 
quently became jealous of them, and, fearing that they 


THE FIVE r^ATIONS, ETC. 


193 


would throw ofl* the yoke to which they were subjected, 
murdered them in cold blood. Not having any serious 
fears of the resentment of so un warlike a people, they 
ordered a small compensation to be paid to the Five 
Nations, whom they looked upon as incapable of 
avenging the atrocity which had been perpetrated^ 
These "were, however, greatly exasperated, and resolved 
to be revenged. The Adirondacks, when informed of 
this, deemed it a good occasion to subject them to 
their sway, and accordingly attacked them. The Five 
Nations at first defended themselves faintly against 
their fierce and warlike assailants, and were forced to 
leave their own country, and fiy to the shores of the 
Lakes. This occurred about the beginning of the 
seventeenth century. Here they applied themselves to 
the exercise of arms, and became daily more and more 
expert in the use of them. Their sachems, to remove 
the dread of the Adirondacks, entertained by their 
people, and to inspire them with some degree of con- 
fidence, first led them against the Satanas, who then 
occupied what are now the central parts of the State 
of New York. They subdued these, and drove them 
out of the country, to the banks of the Mississippi. 

Having thus proved their courage, the Five Na 
tions next successfully withstood the whole force ol* 
the Adirondacks. They then carried the war into 
tlie heart of their country, and forced them to leave 
it, and fly towards Quebec. The Adirondacks were 
now joined by the French, who had just commenced 
their settlements in Canada. The combatants met 
at Corlaer’s Lake, since’ callec, after the French 
commander, Lake Champlain. The Five Nations had 

13 XI.— 17 


184 


THE FIVE NATIONS, ETC. 


never seen fire-arms, and the French, keeping them- 
selves concealed till the Indians were engaged, rose 
suddenly up and poured a deadly volley upon them. 
Panic-struck at the fearful character and deadly effect 
of the attack, they fled, with great loss, from the field. 

the influence of the French, the Hurons and 
other neighbouring nations now joined in the war 
against the Five Nations. The Adirondacks, thus re- 
inforced, and having been furnished wilh fire-arms, 
proposed utterly to destroy their enemies. But their 
young men, fond of adventure, and refusing obedience 
to their captains, often attacked the foe rashly ; and the 
latter, observing this, soon began to profit by it. They 
sent out small parties, who, meeting greater numbers 
of the enemy, retreated, while the Adirondacks pursued 
with fury, and carelessly suffered themselves to be 
drawn into ambuscades. Thus many of them were 
cut off' with little loss to the victors. In this manner 
the Adirondacks were wasted away, while the prac- 
tice of the Five Nations, of adopting into their tribes 
the prisoners taken from the Satanas, increased their 
strength and numbers. 

The Five Nations appear to have delighted in strat- 
agem, and amused the Adirondacks, and* the Ilurons. 
their allies, by messages to the French, pretending to 
wish for peace, and to have some priests come among 
them. When, accordingly, some Jesuits came, they 
kept them as hostages, in order to force the French to 
remain neutral in their wars with the Adirondacks. 
They then attacked and defeated the latter within two 
leagues of Quebec, and, liad they known its weak- 
ness,, might h^ve destroyed even the French colony. 


THE FIVE NATIONS, ETC. 


195 


The allies of the Adirondacks, now struck with ter- 
ror, fled in different directions. Soon after, the Five 
Nations collected 1,000 or 1,200 men, and set out to 
pay a visit to the governor of Canada. On their way, 
they met Piskaret, captured him, and, learning from 
him that ^e Adirondacks were divided into two bod- 
ies, they fell upon them and cut them to pieces. When 
the French first settled in Canada, the Adirondacks 
had 1,500 warriors within a league of Quebec, but, 
after this last battle, they never possessed any conse- 
quence as a nation. 

Piskaret, whom we have just mentioned, was a great 
warrior, and famous for his exploits and stratagems. 
On one occasion, he set out for the country of the 
Five Nations, about tbe time of the spring thaws. He 
put the back part of his snow-shoes forward, and went 
along the ridges and high grounds, where the sirow 
was melted, so that he might leave no track. Coming 
near a village of the Five Nations, he hid himself till 
night. Then stealing into a wigwam, he murdered the 
whole family while asleep, scalped them, and again hid 
himself. The next day, tbe murderer was sought for 
'in vain. At midnight, he came out and repeated his 
bloody deed. The third night, a watch was kept. 
Piskaret bundled up his scalps, and then stole on till 
he discovered an Indian asleep. Him he despatched 
at a blow, but, being discovered, he was obliged to flee. 
As he was the swiftest of all the Indians, he suffered 
his pursuers to approach him, and then darted away. 
In the evening, he hid himself and lay down ; his pur- 
suers also stopped and went to sleep. Piskaret turned 
about, knocked them cn the head, scalped them, and 


196 


THE FIVE NATIONS, ETC. 


returned home. Such were the bloody feats which 
secured renown among the Indians. 

The Five Nations having thus established their as- 
cendency over the adjacent tribes, rapidly advanced in 
power. Though checked by the French, they still 
extended their sway in every direction, and especially 
towards the south. They conquered the whole territory 
of the Delawares, or Lenapes, and obliged them to pu 
themselves under their protection. They spread their 
victorious bands over all the remote parts of Virginia, 
and down as far as the mouth of the Ohio, while 
they subdued the nations eastward to Connecticut River. 
They often travelled singly, or in small parties, three 
or four hundred miles, and lurked about the villages of 
their enemies to shed blood, and revenge the real oi 
imputed wrongs of their friends. Their sway at length 
extended to South Carolina on the south, and on the 
west to the Mississippi, a tract of territory 1,200 miles 
in length, and 600 in breadth. In 1667, they formed 
a treaty with the governor of Maryland, which was 
afterwards broken, and troubles, both with that colony 
and Virginia, ensued. At last. Lord Howard, as agent 
of the latter, met the chiefs of the tribes at Albany, 
and, after a long conference, a peace, which was wek 
observed on both sides, was entered into by the con- 
tracting parties. 

In 1684, the French made great efforts to detach the 
Five Nations from the English. They invited them ta 
a conference at an appointed place. The Onondagas 
complied, and sent one of their sachems and thirty war- 
riors ; the Senecas and others refused. The French 
commander, after reproaching the Indians, threatened 


THE FIVE NATIONS, ETC. 


197 


them with vengeance, if they did not conform to his 
views ; but the sachem replied boldly, and avowed his 
determination to preserve peace, and the Frenchman 
went home disappointed and enraged. 

The Five Nations, soon after this, subdued the tribe 
of the Illinois, who had fought against them, and then 
prepared to go against the Miamis. The French de- 
termined to support their allies, and sent an order to 
all the Indians around Michilimackinac to assemble at 
Niagara and join them in an attack on the Senecas. 
The Potawatomies and others assembled at the place 
of rendezvous ; but here the Ottawas sought to divert 
them from the enterprise, not being willing to lose a 
gainful trade they now enjoyed with the English. 
After various preparations, the French, with their In- 
dian allies, marched toward the Seneca towns. The 
warriors of the latter tribe were, however, on the alert. 
Five hundred or more of them lay in ambush, while 
the French scouts passed within pistol-shot, and, not 
seeing them, reported that they could not find the 
enemy. The French pressed boldly forward, but 
when they were about a quarter of a league from their 
village, the Senecas suddenly rose upon them with a 
discharge of their fire-arms, attended by the appalling 
war-whoop. This threw the militia, as well as the 
regular troops, into a fright, and such was the confu- 
sion, that they fired on one another. The Senecas, 
perceiving their disorder, fell upon them, till the French 
Indians, at last, rallied and repulsed them. This action 
so dispirited the French commander, that he could not 
be induced immediately to pursue his object ; he halted 
till the next day, when he marched forward to burn the 

17 * 


198 


THE FIVE NATIONS, ETC. 


village. But he now found that the Senecas had al 
ready laid it in ashes and disappeared. After destroy 
ing two other villages, and the corn he found there, he 
returned home to Canada. 

Instigated by new causes of dissatisfaction, the Five 
Nations invaded Canada with a large force, and pushed 
the war with such vigor as to take Montreal and lay it 
in ashes. One thousand of the French are said to 
have been killed, and twenty-six taken prisoners, with 
the loss of only three men on the part of the Indians, 
who got drunk and remained behind. Had they un- 
derstood the feeble condition of the French, and been 
relieved from the influence of the priests that were 
among them, especially the Oneidas, Onondagas, and 
Cayugas, the French settlements in Canada would 
probably have been totally ruined. 

Influenced by the advice of an English oflicer. 
Colonel Dogan, in whom they confided, the Five Na- 
tions, so far as they could, formed treaties with the 
Western Indians. At this period, war between the 
English and the French again broke out, and Count 
Frontenac, the new governor of Canada, sent a message 
to the tribes by a sachem who had been a prisoner and 
had been carried to France, but who had just returned 
with the Count. The object of this mission was to 
invite the Five Nations to a conference, for the pur- 
pose of making peace. After holding a general coun- 
cil, consisting of eighty sachems, at Onondaga, on the 
27th of December, 1689, at which they requested the 
mayor of Albany to be present, in order to advise 
them, they sent to Count Frontenac their answer. This 
was quite characteristic. Its conclusion ran thus ; — 


THE F.VE NATIONS, ETC. 


199 


“ Yonondio,” (the name tbe}^ always gave the French 
governor,) you desire to speak with us at Cadarackui. 
J)o n'i you know that your lire there is extinguished ? 
It is extinguished with blood. You must send home 
tlie prisonei’s in tln3 first place. 

“We let you know that we have made peace with 
the Wagunhas [probably the Ottawas]. You are not 
to think that we have laid down the axe because we 
return no answer ; we intend no such thing. Our far- 
fighters shall continue the war till our countrymen re- 
turn. When our brother is returned, then we will 
speak to you of peace.” 

The Five Nations were now engaged in frequent 
skirmishes with the French, whom they annoyed great- 
ly by their war-parties, killing some, and carrying off 
others as prisoners, sometimes even from the vicinity 
of Montreal. The Mohawks, however, not finding 
the English earnest in furnishing them aid, as they 
had promised, began to incline to make peace with the 
French. They accordingly despatched some of theii 
sachems to Count Frontenac for this purpose, and 
entered into a treaty with him. The English, being 
made aware of this, renewed their covenant with the 
other nations, and gave them presents. The Mohawks 
also renewed their alliance with the English colonies, 
saying, “ Though an angry dog has endeavoured to 
bite the chain in pieces, we are resolved to keep it 
firm, both in peace and in war. We now renew the 
old chain, that so the tree of peace and prosperity may 
flourish and spread its roots through all the country.” 

During the whole of this war, the Five Nations re- 
mained faithful to the English colonies, notwithstand- 


200 


THE FIVE NATIONS, ETC. 


ing the intrigues of the French to lure inern over to 
their side. They contributed essentially to the protec- 
tion of our frontiers, and greatly harassed the enemy 
along the whole Canadian border. The contest drew 
forth many acts of extraordinary skill and bravery, on 
both sides, as well as others of shocking atrocity. The 
French seemed often to forget their civilization in their 
fury against their savage foe. At last, the treaty of 
Ryswick, between England and France, which termi- 
nated the war in other quarters, brought peace also to 
the Indian tribes. 

During Queen Anne’s War, the Five Nations were 
prevailed on by the French, as they refused their alli- 
ance, to stand neutral, for they could not be induced to 
make war against the English. They were, however, 
more or less engaged in incursions into Virginia, and 
harassing the friendly Indians there. In 1712, they 
received into their confederacy the Tuscaroras, who 
fled from North Carolina, as we have related ; so that, 
afterwards, they bore the title of the Six Nations. The 
peace of Utrecht, in 1713, put an end to the hostilities 
between the English and French. The Indians were 
now, for a number of years, engaged in trade, both at 
Montreal and Albany. 

In 1743, several chiefs of the Six Nations met the 
English commissioners at Philadelphia. They there 
made a cession of their lands on both sides of the Sus- 
quehannah, in Pennsylvania, and, in view of the ex- 
pected war with the French, renewed their bond of 
alliance with them. Similar meetings and treaties oc- 
curred in 1744, between the Six Nations and the gov- 
ernors of Maryland and Virginia. The Delawares 


THE FIVE NATIONS, ETC. 


201 


were required by the Six Nations to remove to the 
w’est side of the River Delaware, and not to sell lands 
hereafter, “ as they were no better than women.” A 
peace was made with the Cherokees, with whom they 
wej’e at war, hut not with the Catawbas, whom they 
threatened with their vengeance, because they did not 
come and join them at the council. In the year 1746, 
they met the governor of New York and renewed 
their alliances ; and, from time to time, they sent out 
parties to harass the French, in which they were joined 
by the Susquehannah Indians. 

Subsequently to this, the Six Nations, and especially 
the Mohawks, were brouglit peculiarly under the influ- 
ence of an English officer, afterwards celebrated in 
history as Sir William Johnson. Hendrick, the re- 
nowned king of the Mohawks, and his warriors, accom- 
panied their patron in his various military excursions 
against the French, which terminated in the surren- 
der of Canada to the English. The chief himself seal- 
ed his fidelity with his blood, having fallen at the 
battle of Lake George. Many instances of his sa- 
gacity are related. A council of war having been 
called, on a certain occasion, and the proposition made 
io send out a detachment to meet the enemy, Hen- 
drick, being consulted, said, “ If they are to fight, they 
are too few ; if they are to be killed, too many.” 
Another proposition being made to send out three par- 
ties, the old chief took three sticks and said, ‘‘ Put 
these together, and you cannot break them ; one by 
one, you can do it easily.” His sagacity was admitted, 
his advice followed, and the victoiy was won. 

It appears that this famous chief received the title 


202 


THE FIVE NATIONS, ETC. 


of King ; the occasion is said to have been as follows. 
Tlie Mohawks and the River Indians, called Mohegans, 
had a contest which should have the honor of naming 
their king. Both nations gathered in their strength, 
and met at a place called Woton Island, in the Hud- 
son River, to decide the question. A pitched battle 
was fought, which lasted through the day. Towards 
night, the Mohawks, fearing that the Mohegans were 
likely to gain the victory, suddenly took to flight, and 
gained another island. In the evening, they kindled a 
great number of fires, and spread their blankets on 
some bushes, as though they had encamped beneath 
them. The Mohegans, pursuing, landed on the island 
in the night, and, imagining the Mohawks to be asleep, 
crept up as silently as possible, and poured a heavy 
fire on the spot ; they then rushed forward with tjieir 
knives and tomahawks, raising their yells, and cutting 
and slashing in every direction. At this moment, the 
Mohawks, who lay flat on the ground, rose from their 
ambush at a little distance, and poured in a murderous 
fire on their foes, whom they could distinguish by the 
light of the fires. Most of them were killed, or borne 
down and taken prisoners. A treaty was then made, 
by which the Mohawks were to appoint the king, and 
the Mohegans were to hold them in reverence, and call 
them “ Uncle.” Hendrick was the monarch first 
named by the Mohawks. He lived to a great age, and 
was killed, as has been related, at the battle of Lake 
George. 

The Six Nations were accustomed now to make 
temporary removals from place to place, paying visits 
to the Miamis, Hurons, and Wyandots. Some of them 


THE FIVE NATIONS, ETC. 


203 


also resided on the Susquehannah, in Pennsylvania, and 
received instruction from Count Zinzendorf and the 
Moravians. To this party belonged the Cayuga chief, 
Shikellimus, the father of Logan, the Mingo chief, 
whose sorrows and whose eloquence have become so 
celebrated. The Mohawks accompanied Sir William 
Johnson in his expedition to Niagara, in 1759, and 
contributed to the victory gained over the French, 
when, after the death of General Prideaux, the com- 
mand devolved on Sir William. In this battle, their 
afterwards celebrated chief, Brant, though but a youth, 
greatly distinguished himself. 

The Mohawks received Protestant missionaries among 
them, as the Oneidas, Onondagas, and Cayugas had 
received the French Catholics. They had churches 
built, and some of their young men were sent into 
Connecticut, to be educated there under the care of 
Dr. Wheelock. 

In the fierce wars which broke out at the West, of 
which we have elsewhere given an account, the Six 
Nations, in general, took no active part, though some 
of the Cayugas, and the warriors on the banks of the 
Susquehannah and Shamokin, occasionally became 
parties to them. Still, the feelings of the Six Nations 
were considerably alienated from the English, as well 
as those of the whole Indian race, unless we may 
except the Oneidas. The reason of this probably was, 
that the English did not take equal pains with the 
P'rench to win them with presents. Sir William John- 
son’s influence with them, however, was very great, 
and, so long as he lived, they looked up to him as 
their protector and father. He died just before the 


204 


THE FIVE NATIONS, ETC. 


commencement of the American War of Independence 
His sons, Sir John Johnson and Colonel Guy Johnson, 
— the former of whom was the Indian agent for the 
British government, — succeeded to his influence, and 
their interference was the cause of many interruptions 
of the peace and happiness of the settlers in New York 
and Pennsylvania during the great struggle for free- 
dom. But the account of these transu-cdons, with the 
further history of the Six Nations, must be reserved 
for another chapter. 



THE SIX NATIONS. 


On the breaking out of the War of Independence 
the Six Nations were in alliance with the British gov 
ernment, and under the influence of Sir John an( 
Colonel Guy Johnson. As before intimated, they wen 
led to take part in the hostilities against the colonies 
The Indians were now living on the extended tract of 
country up the Mohawk valley, and reaching beyond 
the small lakes in the western part of the State of New 
York. The Mohawks had their principal seat in the 
vicinity of Johnstown ; that of the Oneidas was neai 
Lake Oneida, and called Oneida Castle ; the Onondagas 
dwelt in the country around the lake which bears 
their name. Onondaga Castle, as it was called, was 
the centre of the confederacy, and here was the grand 
council-house where the council-fire was kept perpetu- 
ally burning. The Cayugas were still further west, 
near Lake Cayuga, and the Senecas beyond them. 

These nations had villages of well constructed huts, 
fine orchards, and fruitful fields. Through the influ- 
ence of the English, they had considerably advanced 
in civilization, and had gathered round them many 
comforts. The colonists felt a deep interest as to the 

XI. — 18 


206 


THE SIX NATIONS. 


part which these nations were to take in the opening 
contest ; and negotiations were early entered into with 
them, to secure, if not heir alliance and friendship, at 
least their neutrality. This was, undoubtedly, the 
wisest position for the Six Nations to take, and the 
Oneidas, influenced by the persuasions of their good 
missionary, Kirkland, agreed to adopt it. The other 
nations, no doubt, might have been induced to do 
the same, had it not been for the great weight of 
Sir John Johnson’s influence with them, enforced by 
the presents received from the British governor of 
Canada, while the colonists were poor, and unable to 
win them, by the same means, to their cause. The 
. early successes of the Americans, however, kept them 
quiet for a time, as they were afraid to venture on 
open hostilities. The Mohawks met in council, in 1775, 
at Guy Park, the seat of Colonel Guy Johnson, near 
the Mohawk. Their principal speaker there \vas Little 
Abraham, the brother of Hendrick. Delegates, also, 
from Albany and Tryon counties attended. These 
expressed their desire to maintain friendship with the 
inhabitants ; but still the influence of Colonel John- 
son operated unfavorably for the interest of the colo- 
nies. 

The Oneidas and Tuscaroras, likewise, met at Ger- 
man Flats, with a committee from the two counties, 
and the pledge of neutrality was there given. Colonel 
Johnson convened another council soon after, compos- 
ed chiefly of the Cayugas and Senecas, the most nu- 
merous of the Six Nations. At this meeting, the minds 
of the Indians were seriously alienated from the Amer- 
icans ; still, they continued to receive the various com- 


THE SIX NATIONS. 


207 


missioners sent them by Congress, and professed a de- 
termination to preserve a neutrality in the opening war. 
The Mohawk leader, at this period, was Thayandane- 
ca, or Joseph Brant,* so famous in the history of the 
lime. His first active paiticipation in the contest was 
in 1776, on the St. Lawrence, at the battle of the Ce- 
dars, ten miles above Montreal. He appeared there, 
it is said, at the head of 600 Indians, principally the 
Caughnawagas, and other tribes not including the Six 
Nations. The fact was scarcely known at that time by 
the Americans, who yet hoped to be able to preserve 
themselves from the open attacks of so formidable a 
foe. 

The division of opinion and feeling among the 
tribes, on the subject of the part to be taken in the 
war, was the cause of the dissolution, in 1777, of 
the confederacy of the Six Nations, which had so 
long existed, and Avhich had contributed so much to 
their strength and civilization. The annouiicement of 
the rupture was made in a characteristic mduner. Ad- 
dressing Colonel Elmore, the officer in command at 
Fort Stahwix, the Oneida chiefs said, “ Brother, we 
are sent here by the Oneida chiefs in conjunction 
with the Onondagas. They arrived at our village yes- 
terday. They have brought us the melancholy news 
that the grand council-fire at Onondaga is extir> 
guished. We have lost out of their town ninety, 
among whom are three principal sachems. We, the 
remaining part of the Onondagas, do now inform our 
brethren that there is no lonser a council-fire at the 

* For an account of Brant, see “ Lives of Famous American 
Indians.’* 


208 


THE SIX NATIONS. 


capital of the Six Nations.” They then requested that 
this intelligence should be forwarded to various Ameri- 
can officers, and also to the Mohawks. 

We cannot but feel a melancholy regret at thus 
witnessing the dissolution of this ancient confedera 
tion, which had so long bound them together like 
brethren, and under the influence of which they had 
made a more rapid advance in improvement than any 
of the contemporaneous nations of their race. Hence- 
forth they appear as separate tribes, and often in arms 
against each other. From this point may be dated 
their degeneracy, which has at last left them but the 
recollection of their former greatness, while they are 
scattered far from their ancient seats of poAver and the 
graves of their sires. 

Our history, hereafter, is more especially concerned 
with the Mohawks, Onondagas, Cayugas, and Senecas. 
A great council was held at Oswego, in which these 
Indians, with Brant, as their now acknowledged leader, 
took part with other tribes from the w^est. Engage- 
ments to aid the British cause were entered into, and, 
consequently. Colonel St. Leger, about the time that 
General Burgoyne began his invading expedition by 
way of Lake Champlain, also set out with his force of 
British and Canadian troops and Indian allies from 
Oswego, to cooperate with Burgoyne, by passing down 
tbe Mohawk valley, and meeting him near Albany. 
As Fort Schuyler lay in his way, it was besieged on 
the 3d of August, 1777. The Indians, concealing 
ffiemselves behind clumps of trees, greatly annoyed 
the garrison with their fire, while throwing up parapets 
ffir their defence. To relieve Fort Schuyler, thus as- 


THE SIX NATIONS. 


209 


sailed, General Herkimer was sent forward from be- 
low. He apprised Colonel Gansevoort, the commander, 
of his approach, and urged his cooperation. Measures 
for this purpose were concerted, but delay prevented 
the union being effected before the enemy made their 
appearance at Oriskany. Here a severe battle was 
fought, and greatly to the disadvantage of the Ameri- 
cans in the outset, though they were finally victorious. 
The Indians bore a prominent part in this dreadful 
contest. It is said the Senecas were first intoxicated, 
and in this condition lured into the battle, under the 
idea that they were only to smoke their pipes, and see 
the British wdiip the rebels. Their loss was great, 
many of them being killed and w^ounded. It is sup- 
posed, that, on this occasion, a large force was led on 
by Brant, consisting principally of Cayugas, Senecas, 
and Mohawks. 

On the 3d of December in the same year. Congress 
made another effort to divert the Six Nations from the 
British service, but without effect. The Indians now 
wdiolly threw off llie mask, and sent out various parties 
to attack the settlements. Severe skirmishes took place, 
among which may be mentioned the battle of Cobels 
kill between a party of regular troops and Schoharie 
militia, fifty-two in all, and a body of Indians 450 strong 
Tlie latter w’ere victorious, and the Americans retreat 
ed, with the loss of fourteen killed, eight wounded, 
and two missing. The Indians then burned several 
houses, destroyed all the horses and cattle which they 
could not drive away, and took considerable other 
plunder. Strolling bands were continually prowling 
about the valley of Schoharie and other exposed situa- 

14 18* 


210 


THE SIX NATIONS. 


tions, and many persons were killed or carried off 
as captives. 

Among the expeditions of this period, in wl ich Brant 
and the Six Nations, as they were still called, though 
embracing only four of the tribes, were engaged, in 
alliance with the British, we may particularly notice 
those which resulted in the destruction of the Ger- 
man Flats, and the massacre at Cherry Valley. Yet 
the dreadful scenes at this latter place, as they are re- 
corded in history, are too shocking for detail. Neither 
beauty, nor youth, nor innocence, nor age, nor piety, 
formed the slightest protection against the ferocity of 
the savages and their worse than savage instigators. 
Every d\veHing and barn in the village was set on 
fire, and thirty or forty prisoners, of all classes and 
both sexes, were marched off, half-naked and shivering, 
through the woods, to the distant post of Fort Niagara. 
On their return to the Seneca country, the savages 
celebrated their exploits by a dance of thanksgiving, 
sacrificing, as usual, a dog, and going through the va- 
rious ceremonies of the scalp-yell, while brandishing 
their knives, and recounting their achievements in 
song. 

In the autumn of 1778, occurred the celebrated mas- 
sacre in the beautiful vale of Wyoming. This lovely 
spot was peopled with Germans and emigrants from 
New England, who lived in a state of enviable peace, 
comfort, and content. On the first of July, a force 
of 1,200 British and tories, wdth 400 Indians, appeared 
on the Susquehannah, and began their host le opera- 
tions, A brave resistance was made by the settlers, 
but -they w^ere at last overcome, and the whole valley 


THE SIX NATIONS. 


211 


became a scene of the most fearful desolation. These 
terrific events have acquired immortality frcm the pen 
of Campbell, who has made them his theme in the pa- 
thetic poem of Wyoming.” * 

The year 1779, which was distinguished by the war 
of the Western Indians, and the Shawanese and Dela- 
wares in the remote parts of Virginia, was also marked 
by the project of Brant for a combined attack on the 
friendly Oneidas. This led to an expedition to Onon- 
daga, by the Americans, against that hostile tribe. 
The Indians abandoned their villages on, the approach 
of the enemy, yet thirty-three of them were taken 
prisoners, and a few slain. Three villages, consisting 
of nearly fifty houses, were burned to the ground ; a 
large amount of provisions was destroyed ; a hundred 
muskets and rifles, with a considerable quantity of am- 
munition, constituted part of the booty. 

The Onondagas now breathed vengeance, and 300 
of their warriors poured down on the valley of the 
Schoharie, where they plundered and burnt Cobelskill, 
Avhich had been settled by some twenty families, since 
its destruction a year or two previous. The Mohawks 
also burst suddenly on the town of Minisink, and laid 
waste the settlement, burning, killing, and plundering 
on every hand. A battle was fought between then 
and a force sent from Goshen and its vicinity. It last 
ed from 11 o’clock, A. M. till nightfall. The Ameri 
cans, though superior in numbers, were defeated, and 
forced to retreat, owing to a successful ambuscade 
formed by the Indians, and the failure of ammunition. 

* See Life of Brant, in “Lives of Famous American In- 
dians ” 


I 


212 


THE SIX NATIONS. 


A vigorous effort was now made by the Americans 
against the Senecas, the most numerous and ferocious 
of the Six Nations. General Sullivan, at the head of 
a large force, penetrated into their country, and de- 
stroyed forty towns and villages, some of them having 
fifty or a hundred houses, and one as many as a hun- 
dred and twenty-eight. He also destroyed 160,000 
bushels of corn, and many extensive fields and beauti- 
ful orchards of fruit, some of them containing 1,500 
trees. The lovely valley of the Genesee was thus 
transformed into a scene of desolation, and the nation 
was left houseless and destitute to encounter the severe 
winter of 1780. Previous to his reaching the Seneca 
country, however, a severe battle took place at Che- 
mung, in which the Indians fought with determined 
bravery, though they were defeated, and lost many of 
their warriors. In another engagement at Newtown 
the whole force of the Senecas and the other Indians, 
variously computed at from 800 to 1,500, was routed 
with great slaughter. A tragic scene occurred at this 
period in the cruel death of Lieutenant Boyd, belonging 
to General Sullivan’s army, who, with a small party 
of men, was sent out on a scouting expedition. They 
were cut off by some Indians, and, being captured, the 
lieutenant was put to death with tortures toe horrible to 
relate. 

The destruction of the Seneca towns was not, how- 
ever, suffered to pass without retaliation. The hostile 
Indians, aided by the British, in 1780, invaded the vil- 
lages of the Oneidas, and en irely destroyed their 
castle, church, and dwellings; the Oneidas were thus 
d iven, in their state of desolation, upon the white 


THE SIX NATIONS. 


213 


settlements for protection and aid. The American 
government gave them support, fixing them, till the 
close of the war, at Schenectady and its vicinity. 

Numerous incursions -were made, in the same year, 
by the Indians, led on by Brant, who burned Canajo- 
harie, and took fifty-two prisoners, besides killing sev- 
enteen persons. One hundred and forty houses and 
barns were burned ; twenty-four people killed, and 
seventy-three made prisoners. 

The towns of Johnstown and Cau£rhnawao;a had re- 
cently been visited with the vengeance of the Indians, 
in connection with Sir John Johnson’s invasion of the 
seat of his ancient residence. The Senecas, however, 
were still unsated with revenge. Under Cornplantcr, 
a famous chief of that nation, joined by Brant and some 
British troops, they again made their appearance in 
the valley of the Schoharie, with the intention of com- 
pleting the work of destruction there. Some severe 
skirmishes ensued, but their purpose was in a great 
degree efiected, and the whole region was left deso- 
late. The Mohawk valley became the scene of a 
similar incursion. Here, however, the enemy was 
overtaken and defeated, in the battle of Klock’s Farm, 
and compelled to seek safety in flight. 

In 1781, the Indians assisted at the battle of Dur- 
lagh, where, after a spirited attack and resistance, they 
were routed, leaving nearly forty dead on the field. 
In October, they were also present at the battle of 
Johnstown, and fought from noon till sunset, when 
they were finally forced to retreat ; in the pursuit, 
Butler, the notorious leader in the Cherry Valley mas- 
sacre, was killed. This was the last expedition in 


214 


THE SIX NATIONS. 


which they were engaged previous to the close of the 
American war. 

In the articles of peace between the mother country 
and her former colonies, no provision had been made 
for the Indian allies of the English. The Mohawks, 
who had left their own country, were invited by the 
Senecas to take a tract of their territory ; but they 
declined it, choosing, as they said, to sink or swim with 
the English. The latter then assigned them a domain 
on the north side of Lake Ontario, upon the Bay of 
Quinte. Not satisfied, however, with this, another, 
by their request, six miles on each side of the Grand 
River, from the mouth to its source, about forty miles 
above the Falls of Niagara, was bestowed on them. 

In the mean time, the sachems and warriors of the 
Six Nations held a conference, in 1784, with the agents 
of the United States. There were present represen- 
tatives from the Mohawks, Senecas, Onondagas, Cay- 
ugas, Oneidas, and Tuscaroras, and Seneca Abeal, or 
the Senecas of Cornplanter’s clan, on the Alleghany. 
In the treaty that was concluded, the Six Nations re- 
linquished a portion of their territory, and were to be 
secured in possession of that which they then occu- 
pied. The treaty, however, did not satisfy the In- 
dians, and both Red Jacket,* the noted Seneca orator, 
and Brant, the Mohawk chief, were highly displeased 
with its terms. A plan was laid by the latter for 
obtaining assistance from the English, in the event of 
a general Indian war with the United States, which he 
evidently had in contemplation. 


* 


See “ Lives of Feimous Indians 



Red Jacket 


216 


THE SIX NATIONS. 


Questions of boundary originated further difficulties 
between the new republic and the Indians. In De- 
cember, 1786, a grand council was held at Huron 
village, attended by the Six Nations, the Hurons, 
Ottawas, Miamis, Shawanese, Chippewas, Cherokees, 
Delawares, Potawatomies, and Wabash confederates. 
An address to the United States was agreed upon 
pacific in its character, but it closed by suggesting, 
that, in case their views were not concurred in, they 
should take the field to assert their claim by arms. 
Another council was held in 1788, at which Brant suc- 
ceeded in making further advances toward hostilities ; 
but the purpose of the Mohawk chief was, for the 
present, defeated by the treaties of General St. Clair 
. with the Western Indians, at Fort Huron, in 1789. 

In 1791, the Six Nations, after the defeat of General 
Harmar by the Western Indians, joined with them in 
sending a deputation to the British governor at Quebec, 
to inquire if British aid could be hoped for in the fur- 
ther prosecution of the war. They received, however, 
but little encouragement from him, and Cornplanter 
used his efforts to prevent the warriors of the Six Na- 
tions from taking part in the contest, and to persuade 
the Miamis to peace. These, and other efforts, were 
but partially successful ; for, in the battle which soon 
after took place, resulting in the defeat of General St. 
Clair, it is said one hundred and fifty Mohawks, with 
their leader, were engaged. 

Negotiations were carried on, however, during the 
early part of the year 1792 ; and in the autumn, 
Cornplanter, with forty-eight chiefs of the Six Nations, 
thirty chiefs and warriors of the Mohawks and Canada 


THE SIX NATIONS. 


217 


Indians, wi.h others from tribes beyond the Canadian 
territory, 's isited the Miamis and held a council with 
a view to dissuade them from war. They succeeded 
only so far as to make them agree to suspend hostili- 
ties till spring, and then meet the United States in 
council for further deliberation. 

The account of the transactions in Ohio, connected 
with these events, will be found in the history given of 
the Western Indians. The Six Nations desired, if 
possible, to bring about peace, and a number of coun- 
cils 'were held, at which they were present ; but their 
efforts were vain. In consequence of a claim being set 
up by Pennsylvania on Presque Isle, the Six Nations 
were induced to assume a hostile attitude toward the 
United States in 1794, and, probably, but for the inter- 
position of Washington, withholding Pennsylvania from 
prosecuting her design, a collision would have been 
inevitable. The defeat of the Western Indians by 
General Wayne effectually quieted the Six Nations, 
and Jay’s treaty with Great Britain was soon followed 
by a general peace. 

The Six Nations continued to reside in their respec- 
tive territories. Missionaries Avere received among 
them, the Bible was translated into their language, and 
numbers Avere converted to Christianity. The pacific 
feelings of this period are indicated by the fact, that the 
Mohawks and Senecas met by mutual challenge for 
athletic exercises, especially for matches of ball and 
cricket, Avhich they had learned from the Avhites, and 
in which they had become remarkably expert. 

When the Avar between the United States and Eng- 
land broke out, in 1812, die Mohawks, led by John 

XI. — IP 


21S 


THE SIX NATIONS. 


Brant, youngest son of the great chief, took part with the 
latter, and were present at a number of battles fought 
on the frontiers. The Senecas, and’ other tribes resid- 
ing in the State of New York, were on the side of the 
Americans. More recently, numbers of them have re 
moved to the West. But a feeble remnant of the once 
mighty confederacy is now to be found. They have, 
also, by repeated transfers, become so intermingled 
with other tribes, that it is difficult to trace them. By 
a recent report of the Indian Department, it appears, 
that, west of the Mississippi, there are about 251 Sen 
ecas from Sandusky, and 211 Senecas and Shawan- 
ese ; the whole number of the New York Indians is 
estimated at 3,293. These probably include the Onei- 
das, Onondagas, and Cayugas, with such relics of other 
tribes as may be found within the limits of the State 
of New York. By repeated cessions and sales of 
former reservations, they are dispossessing themselves 
of their ancient abodes ; and the time is not far dis- 
tant when scarcely a solitary Indian will be found 
where they once spread terror by their numbers and 
valor, and excited admiration for their . heroism and 
sagacity. 



1 


WESTERIN INDIANS EAST OF THE 

MISSISSIPPI. 




The Shciwanese, who were joined with the Dela- 
wares and other nations in the Indian wars by which 
the western section of the United States was disturb- 
ed, about the close of the Revolution, seem to have 
been a Southern nation, and are said to have once re- 
sided on the River Suwaney, in Florida. They have a 
tradition that their ancestors crossed the sea. The 
Delawares were once numerous and powerful. Yet, 
as has been mentioned, they were conquered by the 
great confederacy of the Five Nations ; so that, for a 
considerable period 'afterwards, they make no great 
figure in history. 

At the grand council held at Philadelphia in 1742, 
by the chiefs and warriors of the Six Nations and the 
Delawares, on the one part, and the English, on the 
other, the governor of Pennsylvania alleged, that Wil- 
liam Penn, in his purchases, had bought certain lands 
of the Delawares, which they still retained in their pos- 
session, while, at the same time, the Six Nations claim- 
ed the ownership. < He reminded the chiefs of the Six 
Nations, that, as they required him to remove the 
whites who intruded on their lands, .the Six Nations 


220 WESTERN INDIANS EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 

were under a similar obligation to remove the Indians 
from the lands of which the English had acquired the 
right by purchase. 

Tlie old chief, Canassatego, after rebuking the Del- 
awares sharply for their dishonesty and duplicity, in 
selling land they did not own and still retaining it 
in their possession, taunted them for their degradation 
in being conquered and made women of by the Six'" 
Nations ; and then pronounced it as the decision of the 
chiefs and warriors, that they should leave the disputed 
territory, and remove to Wyoming or Shamokin. The 
Delawares did not dare to disobey, and at once retired 
to Wyoming. 

The Shawanese were already settled there ; but, as 
they were in friendship with the Six Nations, they 
made no attempt to molest them. The Shawanese oc- 
cupied, therefore, the west side of the river, while the 
Delawares planted themselves on the eastern side, and 
built their town. It was not long, however, before 
mutual jealousies arose, and, on the breaking out of the 
old French W^ar, the Shawanese favored the French, 
while the Delawares, like the Six Nations, continued 
faithful to the English. 

At first, there were no actual hostilities, but the fol- 
owing incident is said to have brought on a desperate 
fight between these rival neighbours. While the Dela- 
ware chiefs were one day engaged in the chase, on the 
mountains, their women and children were occupied in 
gathering fruit on the margin of the river below the 
town. Some Shawanese women and children, seeing 
them thus employed, paddled across the river, and 
joined them. They all engaged in sports ; but, ia the 


WESTERN INDIANS EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 221 


course of the morning, a Shawanese child having 
caught a large grasshopper, a quarrel arose as to 
the right of possession. The fight among the young 
ones brought up the squaws, who took part with their 
children respectively. From words they came to blows ; 
the Delawares said, the Shawanese had no right to cross 
the river, and come upon their premises ; and being 
the stronger party, after several had been killed on 
both sides, they drove off the Shawanese, and com- 
pelled them to recross the river to their homes. 

On the return of the warriors, they also entered into 
the contest. The Shawanese invaded the territory of 
the Delawares, who met them on the river’s brink, and 
fought them as they landed from their canoes. Still, 
the Shawanese, after a smart struggle, were enabled 
to land, when a fierce and bloody battle took place, 
in which several hundreds were killed on both sides. 
The Shawanese were routed, and, after having lost 
half their number, were compelled to return. They, 
therefore, immediately left Wyoming, and joined the 
main body of their nat on, already settled on the Ohio. 
The Delawares remained. 

In 1761, a conference was hcid between several 
American governors and the Six Nations, at which 
the Delawares, also, were present. Here a warm dis- 
pute arose respecting some lands, of which the Dela- 
ware chief complained that the English had taken pos- 
session, in consequence of a fraudulent conveyance. 
The Indians being thus dissatisfied, the French took 
care, by emissaries, to foment disturbances. The re- 
sentment of the Shawanese and Delaw^ares was further 
roused by the suspicion that the English had concerted 

19* 


222 WESTERN INDIANS EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 

a plan for tl eir extirpation. They therefore united 
with the other tribes upon the Ohio, and the nations 
about Detroit and along the Mississippi, for the pur- 
pose of making a sudden and general attack on the 
frontiers, and at one blow to cut off the inhabitants and 
their means of subsistence. This plot, in which the 
celebrated Pontiac * was one cf the master spirits, was 
matured with great art and secrecy. 

In 1763, the storm, which had been long gathering, 
and of which the low muttering had been heard, burst 
forth in its fury. The savages broke in upon the set- 
tlements, massacred the inhabitants, and all the fron- 
tier country of Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Maryland, 
for twenty miles back, was abandoned. The travel- 
ling merchants, who were among the Indians, were 
murdered and plundered, and property to the amount 
of hundreds of thousands of pounds was lost. So 
fierce and unexpected was the onset, that several forts, 
as those of Le Boeuf, Venango, and Presque Isle, were 
captured by the enemy. They next attempted Fort 
Pitt, Detroit, and Niagara. The two former were in- 
vested at the same time, though about three hundred 
miles apart. 

A strong detachment was despatched by the Eng- 
lish to relieve , these posts. On reaching the neigh- 
bourhood of Fort Detroit, an attack on the Indian 
camp, about three miles off, was determined on. But, 
before the English approached, the Indians them- 
selves began the attack, with the utmost fury, and the 


* For the particulars of Pontiac’s life, see “ Lives of Famous 
American Indians.” 


WESTERN INDIANS EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 223 


troops were compelled to retreat to the fort, with the 
loss of seventy killed and forty wounded. The In- 
dians, however, soon despairing of success in their 
scheme of reducing .the garrison, gave it up and with- 
drew. 

The war still waged with fury along the whole 
western frontier. The siege of Fort Pitt was long 
continued, but after severe fighting, in which the loss 
of the Indians was great, they were beaten. Fort 
Niagara was also sharply assailed, but the enemy were 
finally driven back. At last the savages began to feel 
the necessity of peace, which was accordingly con- 
cluded in September, 1764, though the terms, being 
dictated by the English, were unfavorable to the In- 
dians. 

In the summer of 1774, hostilities again broke out. 
This war had its immediate origin in the incursions 
and outrages of the whites. The earlier stage of it 
is known in history as ‘‘ Cresap’s War,” from the 
murder, by one Cresap, of the family of Logan, the 
Mingo chief,* who had settled among the Shawanese 
in Oliio. This base act of treachery and cruelty, 
which occurred in the spring of 1774, was followed 
by another atrocity, committed by a man named Great- 
house, who invited a large number of Indians to drink 
witn him and his men, and, when in a state of intoxi- 
cation, fell upon them and massacred them. These 
and other outrages had the effect to combine several 
tribes in a war, which resulted in the desolation of many 
of the remote settlements. The governor of Virginia, 


* See “ Lives of Famous American Indians.** 


224 WESTERN INDIANS EAST OF THE BIISSISSIPPI. 


Lord Dunmore, sent a large body of troops under Gen* 
eral Andrew Lewis, who marched towards the junc- 
tion of the Kenhawa with the Ohio. Here, on the 
morning of the 10th of October, just at sunrise, he 
was attacked by a body of Indians, estimated at from 
eight to fifteen hundred, consisting of Shawanese, 
Delawares, Mingoes, Wyandots, Cayugas, and other 
tribes, led on by Logan, aided by Cornstalk, his son 
and the Red Eagle. 

The Indians are said to have had the advantage of 
position, and in the early part of the battle they com- 
pelled the Virginia regiments to give way. But other 
troops being hrouglit up, the Indians were, in turn, 
forced to retreat, and fall back behind a breastwork 
of logs and brushwood which they ^ had erected. 
Here they made a valiant stand, and defended them- 
selves till night had nearly set in. Cornstalk cheered 
ofi his men, crying out, “ Be strong, he strong ! ” and he 
is said also to have buried his tomahawk in the head of 
one who w*as seeking safety in flight. The Indians, 
however, w'ere at last outflanked by an unperceived 
movement of a body of troops, who passed to their 
rear, and drove them from their lines. Supposing that 
the Virginians had now received reinforcements, they 
fled across the Ohio, and retreated to the Scioto. 

Pressed with difficulties and dangers, the inquiry 
arose among the Indians, what was to be done. Corn- 
stalk, who had been opposed to the battle, but who had 
been overruled in the council, now spoke. What 
shall we do ? The Long Knives are coming upon us 
by two routes. Shall we turn out and fight. them. ^ ” 
As no one answered, he next inquired, ‘‘ Shall we kill 


WESTERN INDIANS EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 225 

our squaws and children, and then fight until we are 
all killed ourselves?” Every one was silent, — and 
Cornstalk struck his tomahawk into the war-post, ex- 
claiming, with stern emphasis, “ Since you are not 
for fight, I will go and make peace.” He accordingly 
repaired to the English camp, where negotiations were 
opened, and a treaty concluded. 

Logan was not present at the council, but a special 
messenger was despatched to gain his assent. Corn- 
stalk, as it appears, was even his superior as an ora- 
tor. An American officer, who was present at the in- 
terview between this chief and Lord Dunmore, says, 
“ I have heard the first orators in Virginia, Patrick 
Henry and Richard Henry Lee, but never have I 
heard one whose powers of delivery surpassed those 
of Cornstalk.” 

On the breaking out of the Revolutionary War, the 
Delawares took part with the colonists, owing greatly, 
it is said, to the influence of the chief. White Eyes, 
who was a firm friend to the colonists, in opposition to 
another chief, named Pipe. At a council held -in 
Pittsburg to deliberate on the question, he boldly de- 
clared that he would not join in a war the object of 
which was to destroy a people born on the same, soil 
with himself. The Americans, he said, were his friends 
and brothers, and no nation should dictate to him, or 
his tribe, the course they should pursue. In the course 
of the war which followed, he also sent a message to 
the Shawanese, with whom he had been allied, warn- 
ing them against taking part in it. The language is 
characteristic of the Indian. “ Grandchildren,” says he, 
“ some days ago, a flock of birds, that had come pa 

15 


226 WESTERN INDIANS EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 


from the east, lit at Goschochking, imposing a song cf 
theirs upon us, which song had welknigh proved our 
ruin. Should these birds, which, on leaving us, took 
their flight towards Scioto, endeavour to impose a 
song on you likewise, do not listen to them, for they 
lie.” 

Notwithstanding all the efforts of this chief, how- 
ever, the Delawares, as well as other Western In- 
dians, eventually became hostile in their feelings to- 
wards the Americans. In the spring of 1778, Pipe 
nearly succeeded in involving them in the contest. 
Instigated by the loyalists, he assembled a great num- 
ber of warriors, and proclaimed every one an ene- 
my to his country, who should endeavour to per- 
suade them against fighting the Americans, and de- 
clared that all such ought to be put to death. But 
White Eyes also collected his people, and addressed 
them with great earnestness and pathos. Seeing that 
some of them were preparing to take up the hatchet, 
he told them that such a course was fraught with de- 
struction to themselves. If, however, they disbelieved 
him, and were resolved to go forth to the war, he 
would go with them. “ But,” he added, “ it shall not 
be as when the hunter sets his dogs on the bear to be 


torn in pieces by his paws, while he keeps at a safe 
distance. No ; I will lead you on to the thickest of the 
fight ; I will myself be in the front rank, and the first 
to fall. You have now but to decide on your course. 
For my part, I am determined not to survive my 
slaughtered and ruined nation. I will not spend the 
last lingering of life in mourning. over the doom of my 
peeplo.”- i 




WESTERN INDIANS EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 227 


The chief was now seconded by the arrival of a mes- 
sage of peace from the Americans, and the Indians 
determined to follow his advice. This state of things, 
however, did not long continue. The Shawanese had 
been for some time carrying on a warfare with Colonel 
Daniel Boone and the pioneers of the western settle- 
ments, and various skirmishes took place. In Feb- 
ruary, 1778, Boone was taken prisoner, and adopted 
into one of the Shawanese families as a son. But 
shortly after, he found means to escape, and returned 
home. 

During the summer of this year. Colonel Clarke 
and Captain Bowman performed some brilliant exploits 
against the Indians at Kaskaskia and St. Philip’s, in 
the territory of Illinois. In 1779, the Indians, having 
suffered severe defeats, held a conference with Colonel 
Brodhead at Fort Pitt. The chiefs of the Delawares, 
Wyandots, and Hurons, with the king of the Maqui- 
chees, a branch of the Shawanese, were present. A 
partial treaty was formed, but hostilities were still con- 
tinued along the frontier. In 1780, the Indians were 
severely chastised, and portions of them .were overawed 
for a time. In 1782, under the vigorous operations of 
General Clarke, the war on the western border was 
brought to a close. During this protracted struggle, 
most of the tribes, from Michilimackinac to the mouth 
of the Ohio, were engaged against us, and many events 
of deep interest occurred. The war was marked with 
those acts of daring and atrocity which we might ex- 
pect from exasperated savages and woodsmen, little 
accustomed to emotions of fear or pity. 

■A troubled and dubious peace continued for a time ; 


228 WESTERN INDIANS EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 


but questions of boundary, about which the Indians were 
always dull and confused, soon became the occasion 
of irritation. Hostilities followed in the western parts 
of the Ohio territory, and the Indians, being wrought jp 
on by English emissaries, were not appeased by all tho 
efforts of General Washington at negotiation. Strong 
measures became necessary, and General Harmar was 
sent against them in September, 1790, with a force of 
1,450 men. On his approach, the Indians abandoned 
their principal town, after setting it on fire, but, ral- 
lying again, made an attack on a detachment of two 
hundred and ten men, thirty of whom were regulars. 
The militia fled, and all but seven of the regulars were 
slain. The. next day, another bloody battle was fought, 
between three hundred and sixty men and a large 
party of Indians, which resulted in the defeat of the 
Americans, with the loss of several officers and one 
hundred and eighty-three men. The Indians are said 
to have lost one hundred and twenty warrioi's. The 
victory v/as claimed by the Americans, though they 
retreated, and the consequences were, that the Indians 
became more bold in their incursions on the frontier 
settlements. 

Various efforts were now made to effect a general 
peace, but, though several councils were held, and the 
British governor and other officers lent their influence 
to secure this object, the Indians still continued hostile. 

In .1791, therefore. General St. Clair marched to- 
wards the country of the Miamis. His army consisted 
of about two thousand men. The Indians hung contin- 
ually on his path, and, as he advanced, the militia be- 
gan to desert, till his whole force was redue.ed to about 


WESTERN INDIANS EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 229 

fifteen hundred. Having approached within about 
fifteen miles of the Miami villages, the army lialted 
and encamped for the night beside a creek, the militia 
passing over to encamp on the other side. Here the 
intention ' was to throw up a temporary defence and 
await the return of a detachment which had been sent 
back to guard the supplies. But the Indians had no 
idea of permitting this junction ; and about half an 
hour before sunrise they attacked the militia, who were 
a quarter of a mile in advance. These troops made 
no stand, but ran in the greatest confusion to the camp, 
where they threw the whole force into disorder. The 
Indians fought with the utmost fury, charging the ar- 
tillery on all sides, and, though driven back by the regu- 
lars at the point of the bayonet, they succeeded in sur- 
rounding the Americans. By a furious charge our 
troops forced a passage in the rear, and thus effected 
their retreat. Yet so great was the terror inspired 
among the men, that many of them, in their flight, 
threw away their arms and accoutrements, even after 
the pursuit had ceased. 

In this famous en^aoement the Indians lost about 
one hundred and fifty killed, besides the wounded ; 
while of the Americans above five hundred, including 
officers and men, were killed, and two hundred and sixty 
wounded. They also lost their camp equipage and 
baggage, six or eight field -pieces, and four hun- 
dred horses. The number of the Indians engaged is 
differently estimated at from 1,000 to 1,500. Their 
commander is said to have been Meshecunaqua, or 
the Little Turtle, a chief of the Miamis. It is also 
asserted^ that Brant, with about one hundred and fifty 
Mohawks, had a large share in the action. 

\ i . — 20 


230 WESTERN INDIANS EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 

• 

For twelve months subsequent to this dreadful de 
feat, the frontiers were exposed to more ferocious as- 
saults than before. Numerous instances are related 
of the boldness of the Indians in attacking the settlers, 
and also of the bravery of those hardy pioneers of the 
West in repelling the foe. In one case, a party attack- 
ed a dwelling-house and wounded severely the hus- 
band, so that the defence devolved on the wife and 
daughter. These succeeded in closing the door, so 
that the Indians had to cut an opening by which to 
enter. On one of them thrusting in his head, the val- 
iant woman despatched him with an axe, and drew in 
the body. Four others, one after another, supposing 
that the warriors thus killed had made an entrance, 
suffered the same fate. Abandoning this mode of at- 
tack, they next mounted the roof, and attempted to 
come down the chimney ; but the two heroines cast- 
ing the contents of a feather-bed on the fire, the 
enemy, descending, became suffocated, fell down, and 
were beaten to death by the maimed husband with 
a billet of wood. Another Indian still, on attempting 
the door again, was severely wounded, and the party, 
discouraged at so obstinate a resistance, and doubtless 
imagining the force within to be greater than it was, 
withdrew. 

After some ineffectual attempts at negotiation, in 
various councils. General Wayne, who had been ap- 
pointed to succeed General St. Clair, advanced in- 
to the Miami country. A sharp engagement took 
place at Fort Recovery, which had been thrown 
up on the field of St. Clair’s defeat. The In- 
dians were led on by Little Turtle, who, having sur- 


WESTERN INDIANS EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 231 


prised a detachment of the Americans, drove them into 
the fort. Pressing on, in the hope of entering the fort 
in the pursuit, a heavy fire was opened on the Indians, 
who were forced to retreat. They renewed the as- 
sault, however, the next day, but were again driven off. 

On the 8th of August, 1794, General Wayne reach- 
ed the confluence of the Au Glaize and Miami of 
the Lakes, where were the principal Indian villages. 
Thirty miles from this place, the Indian force, amount- 
ing to nearly two thousand, was gathered close by the 
British fort. Notwithstanding Wayne’s precautions, 
the Indian leader was aware of his approach, and 
prepared for battle. An attempt at negotiation was 
once more made by the American officers, but it 
proved unsuccessful. The Indians were formed in 
three lines near the fort, within suitable distance of 
each other. The attack commenced, and they at- 
tempted to turn the left flank of the American army. 
Wayne’s disposition of his forces was happily so made 
as to counteract the plans of the enemy. The flght was 
severe, but the Indian forces were soon driven from 
their position, leaving to the Americans a complete 
victory. 

Seven nations are said to have been engaged in this 
action, — the Miamis, Wyandots, Potawatomies, Dela- 
wares, Shawanese, Chippewas, and Ottawas. Every 
Wyandot chief present was killed, and many others 
also fell. Little Turtle, it is said, was averse to fight- 
ing, believing that Wa}me was a more vigilant offi- 
cer than those with whom they had before contended. 
But Blue Jacket, a great warrior among the Shawa- 
nese, prevailed in the council, and the engagement we 


232 WESTERN INDIANS EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 

have described, with the consequent defeat, was the 
result. 

The whole Indian country, which was thickly peo- 
pled, w^as laid waste for twenty miles around. The 
margins of the rivers,” says Wayne, in his despatches, 
“ appeared like one continued village, and the fields of 
corn were immense.” Yet these were made a scene 
of desolation. The year after this, all hope of suc- 
cour from the English being removed by Jay’s treaty, 
the Indians became desirous of peace, and terms were 
proposed and accepted on the* 3d of August, 1795. 



WESTERN AND SOUTHERN INDIANS. 


The peace, noticed at the close of the last chapter, 
continued till near the opening of the last war with 
England. At that period, the famous Tecumseh en- 
tered upon his design of embodying the Western In- 
dians in a grand effort to check the advance of the 
American settlements. A plan so extensive had never 
before been attempted by an Indian chief. His broth- 
er, the Prophet, in his sacred character, visited the 
distant tribes, even those beyond the Mississippi, and 
poured out his stirring eloquence upon the warriors as 
far as the foot of the Eocky Mountains. Had the con- 
federacy been actually perfected, the history of events 
had been written in bloodier lines than those w^hich 
portray the reality. 

While the Prophet was marshalling the West, Te- 
cumseh, with burning words, was rousing the fiery 
passions of the Southern Indians. Without much dif- 
ficulty, he succeeded in inspiring the Creek w^arriors 
with a portion of his own fire, and the buried hatchet 
was once more lifted in a fierce attack on the settle- 
ments within their reach. But a part of the Creek 
nation, however, were engaged in these transactions ; 

20 * 


234 


WESTERN AND SOUTHERN INDIANS. 


some 01 them still remaining friendly to our people. 
The principal chiefs bore the names of Weatherford, 
Big Warrior, and Little Warrior. The great argument 
which Tecumseh held out to them was the prospect 
of an approaching war between the United States and 
Great Britain, which, he said, would afford to the In- 
dians the opportunity of avenging their wrongs and 
regaining their rights. 

The first onset was the well known attack and cap- 
ture of Fort Mimms. This was commanded by Major 
Beasley, with one hundred volunteers ; besides whom, a 
large number of the inhabitants, foreseeing the storm, 
had gathered there for safety. Though warned of the 
contemplated attack, the fort was surprised, about noon, 
on the 30th of August, 1812. The sentinel had scarce- 
ly time to announce the approach of the Indians, when 
they rushed, with a terrific yell, towards the open gate. 
The garrison was instantly under arms, and the com- 
mander, with some of his men, flew towards the en- 
trance to close it, and drive out the enemy ; but he fell 
mortally wounded. The conflict was desperate. The 
gate, however, was at last closed, and the Indians, who 
had taken possession of a blockhouse near, were final- 
ly expelled, after much bloodshed. The assault con- 
tinued for an hour, on the outside of the pickets, and 
the portholes were several times carried by the assail- 
ants, and retaken by the garrison. 

The Indians, for a short time, withdrew, apparently 
disheartened ; but, being urged on by their fiery lead- 
er, Weatherford, they returned to the attack, cut away 
the gate with their axes, forced the pickets, and got 
possession of the open space within, compelling the 


WESTERN AND SOUTHERN INDIANS. 


235 


garrison to retreat to the buildings. Here they met a 
gallant resistance, but the Indians at length succeeded 
in setting fire to the roofsj and a scene of carnage en- 
sued- Women and children, the old and the young, 
were all crowded together in these dwellings, and, in 
the spirit of savage warfare, all were sacrificed. 
Scarcely a soul escaped from the terrific scene, and 
nearly two hundred and sixty persons are said to have 
perished. 

This catastrophe taught the inhabitants what they 
had to expect in the contest thus opening upon them, 
and produced immediate efforts, both in Tennessee and 
Georgia, to prepare for the crisis. It was determined 
to carry the war at once into the enemy’s country. 
The command of the expedition from Tennessee was 
committed to a man of prompt decision, firm and un- 
flinching purpose, — a conqueror in his nature, — Gen- 
eral Andrew Jackson. On marching to the Coosa, he 
despatched a detachment to attack the Indian village 
of Littafutchee, on a branch of the abovenamed river. 
The place was captured, with a number of prisoners. 

The Creeks now concentrated their forces at Tallus- 
hatches, also on the Coosa. General Coffee was des- 
patched, by General Jackson, with nine hundred cav- 
alry and mounted riflemen, against them. The Coosa 
ivas forded, and, as he advanced, the Creeks struck 
their war-drum, sung their war-songs, and, with ter- 
rific yells, sallied forth from their village, boldly charg- 
ing the troops. A fearful struggle followed, and the 
Indians, in their fury, disdaining to receive quarter, 
were slaughtered in great numbers. Two hundred of 
their warriors fell, and the women and children were 


236 


wf«;teiin and southern Indians. 


taken prisoners. In his official account, General Cof- 
fee says that the enemy fought as long as they could 
stand or sit, using chiefly the bow and arrow after the 
first fire, though occasionally loading and discharging 
their guns. 

This bloody engagement was the first of a series 
bearing the same general character. General Jackson 
soon moved forward to the relief of the fort at Talla- 
dega, which was menaced with the fate of Fort Mimms. 
The Creeks were found encamped within a quarter 
of a mile of that place, and, as the lines of the Amer- 
ican troops advanced, they were' attacked by the In- 
dians, who were, however, compelled to retreat, with 
the loss of two hundred and ninety left dead on the 
field, and many more wounded. 

About the same time. General Floyd, with nine 
hundred and fifty of the Georgia militia, and three or 
four hundred friendly Indians, met the hostile Creeks 
of that region on the banks of the Tallapoosa River. 
An engagement followed, in which the Indians pre- 
sented themselves at every point, and fought with des- 
perate bravery. After a 5rm resistance, they were 
beaten and driven from the plain, and the houses of 
their two towns were wrapped in flames. 

Notwithstanding their ill success, the Indians were 
not yet prepared for submission, and another battle 
was fought with the forces under General Claiborne, 
on the Alabama. Their stronghold was taken, thirty 
or forty warriors were slain, and two hundred dwel- 
lings burned. Another town, also, of sixty houses, 
eight miles above, was destroyed, with several distin- 
guished chiefs, and all the boats owned by the Indians 
in that vicinity. 


WESTERN AND SOUTHERN ‘INDIANS. 237 

While these transactions were taking place on the 
Georgia side, General Jackson was advancing from the 
west. Several fierce encounters took place, but the 
great battle which broke the strength of the Indians 
occurred at the Horseshoe, a bend in the Tallapoosa. 
Here a thousand or more of the Qreeks were gathered 
from their towns, and had strongly fortified themselves. 
General Jackson, with a force of three or four thou- 
sand men, attacked their position, having stationed a 
portion of his troops so that the escape of the enemy 
might be cut off. The fort was taken by storm, and 
the Indians were entirely defeated. Five hundred and 
fifty-seven were left dead on the field, and a great 
number were killed by the cavalry in attempting to 
cross the river. ^ 

This was, indeed, a dreadful battle. The fighting 
continued to rage for five hours. The Indians refused 
to surrender, answering the propositions made them to 
this effect by volleys of fire-arms. Their numbers 
were now greatly reduced, and the prophets, by whom 
they had been urged on, had nearly all fallen. The 
humbled savages, at last, felt it to be hopeless to con- 
tinue the contest, and accordingly sued for peace. A 
treaty was, therefore, concluded on the 10th of August, 
1814, bv which their territories were once more limited 
within such boundaries as might prevent their disturb 
ing the people of the United Slates. 

The chief, Weatherford, who had led on some of 
the most daring attacks, spoke bn this occasion with 
great feeling. “ I am in your power,” said he to 
General Jackson, who had been appointed to treat with 
them ; “ do with me as you please. I am a soldier. I 


238 


WESTERN AND SOUTHERN INDIANS. 


nave done the white people all the harm I could. 1 
fought them bravely. If I had an army, I would yet 
fight, and contend to the last, but have none ; my 
people are gone. 1 can now do no more than weep 
over the misfortunes of my nation. Once I could ani- 
mate my warriors to battle ; but I cannot rouse the 
dead. My warriors can no longer hear my voice. 
Their bones are at Talladega, Tallushatches, Emuck- 
faw, and Tohopeka. I have not surrendered myself 
thoughtlessly. Whilst there were chances of success, I 
never left my post, nor supplicated for peace. But my 
people are weakened, and I now ask it for my nation 
and myself. On the miseries and misfortunes suffered 
by my country I look back with the deepest sorrow, 
and wish to avert still greater celkimities. If I had 
been left to contend with the Georgia troops alone, I 
would have raised my corn on one bank of the river, 
and fought them on the other ; but you have destroyed 
my nation. You are a brave man ; I rely on your 
generosity. You will exact no terms from a conquered 
people but such as they should accept. Whatever they 
may be, it would now be madness and folly to resist. 
You have told us where we might go and be rafe. 
This is a good talk ; my nation ought to listen, and 
they shall listen.” 

After this speech, Big Warrior made an address, 
promising to abide by the treaty. Since this time, the 
Creeks, as well as the Cherokees and Choctaws, have 
remained at peace. A portion of this nation, who 
bear the name of Semincles, having driven out part 
of the Uchees from Florida, incorporated the rem- 
nants of that tribe with themselves. Here, in the ever- 


WESTERN AND SOUTHERN INDIANS. 


239 


glades and deep fastnesses, they have maintained a 
long and bloody warfare with the United States, during 
which the Americans expended millions of money, and 
lost great numbers of their soldiers, either by battle or 
disease. The principal leaders of the Seminoles were 
Micanopy, Philip, Creek Bill, and Osceola. The lat- 
ter, a half-breed, was the master' spirit; but, being 
captured, he died a prisoner to the Americans, at Fort 
Moultrie, in Charleston, South Carolina, in the year 
1838. After a protracted contest, the Seminoles have 
been subdued, and the greater part of them, as well as 
of the other Southern Indians, have been removed to 
the west side of the Mississippi. Agriculture has ad- 
vanced among the Creeks, and they yet number some 
twenty thousand, or more, in the various divisions of 
their nation. 

The war of the United States with Black Hawk,* 
and the Sacs, Foxes, and Winnebagoes, in 1832, need 
not be detailed here. It is sufficient to say, that it dis- 
turbed the northwestern frontier for a time, but result- 
ed in the entire defeat of the savages, and the surren- 
der of the chief. 

The red man is fast disappearing from the settled 
portions of the United States ; here and there a small 
community of Indians is found east of tne Missis- 
sippi. Every year has witnessed new aggressions on 
their territory by the whites, who have continued to 
despoil them of their property, and rob them of their 
lands. No one can doubt that great injustice has often 
been done, and that they have frequently been forced 


* See “ Lives of Famous American Indians.’’ 


240 


WESTERN AND SOUTHERN INDIANS. 


to yield to the arm of might raiher than to the sense of 
right. Yet there is one compensation; — the mild 
spirit of the gospel has exerted itself among them, and 
Christian communities, with devoted and faithful lead- 
ers, are found planted in the midst of them. We shall 
advert more fullv to some facts on this score in a sub- 
sequent page, and now only observe, that the success 
which has recently attended the benevolent efforts of 
the missionaries justifies the hope that some remnants 
of these tribes may yet be preserved, and be able, here- 
after, to testify to a more humane policy on the part 
of their conquerors. 



Various tribes of northern 

AND WESTERN INDIANS. 


The vast territory, which lies outspread north of 
the great chain of lakes which separate the British 
provinces from the United States, and far in the west 
beyond the sources of the Missouri and Columbia 
Rivers, is inhabited by numerous tribes of Indians. 
Among these, in the British provinces, are the Chippe- 
was, the Assinniboins, the Snake, Stone, Beaver, Cop- 
per, and Hare Indians. These are wandering tribes, 
who halve no history deserving the name ; though they 
are more or less involved, from time to time, in wars 
willi each other. The regions in which many of them 
dwell are cold and barren, and they subsist almost 
entirely by hunting and fishing, furnishing the traders 
with furs, and receiving in exchange such articles as 
they need. Some of them are pensioners on British 
bounty, on account of services rendered in former 
wars. 

Still further to the north, on the coasts of Labrador, 
w<i meet with the Esquimaux, a singular race, who 
live, during the long winter which reigns around them, 
enut up in their huts, and, at the opening of tlieir 

16 XI.— 21 


242 


VARIOUS TRIBES OF 


brief summer, go forth to provide the means of sub- 
sistence by fishing and hunting. They seem to be a 
different race from the red Indian, as they are general- 
ly low in stature, and of a complexion approaching to 
white. In the interior, however, they are said to be 
taller. They possess great skill in the management 
of their canoes or boats, and the training of their dogs 
in sledges, which serve them as the reindeer does its 
Lapland master. Their history is principally com- 
prised in the benevolent and successful efforts of the 
Moravians to extend to them the blessings of the 
Christian religion. Some of them, especially those in 
Labrador, have thus been civilized and Christianized. 
The progress of missionary exertion among them 
has been most interesting, and is fully recorded 
in the history of Moravian missions. For a long 
period, these self-denying men toiled amid hard- 
ships which might have discouraged others actuated by 
less exalted motives. Year after year rolled by, and 
still the frigid hearts, like the icy rocks of their native 
land, responded not to the warm appeals of the Chris- 
tian missionary ; but at last the heart was melted, and 
they were found anxious to learn yet more of the 
spiritual tidings which had been brought to their frozen 
zone. 

The adventurous explorer of the far northern re- 
gions, by land or by sea, occasionally meets the Es- 
quimaux roaming over the ice-clad plains ; but there 
has been little, in that land of wintry barrenness, to 
tempt the invasions of cupidity ; and thus they have 
remained comparatively at peace, except that some 
prowling bands of the northern tribes of Indians have. 


JMORTHERN AND WESTERN INDIANS. 


243 


now and then, assaulted them while on their hunting 
expeditions. 

In the travels of Mackenzie, Hearne, Franklin, Back, 
and the voyages of Ross and Parry, we find oc- 
casional notices of the different tribes which roam 
over the extended territory towards the north pole. 
But as they are mostly descriptions of individuals or 
families, they scarcely claim a place in these pages. 

The Chippewas, who were formerly called Algon- 
quins, are an extensive though scattered band, and 
have heretofore been engagea in bloody wars with 
other tribes, particularly the Otagamies and Saukies. 
These were once much inferior to their adversaries 
both in numbers and strength ; but on a particular occa- 
sion, as related by Carver, they gained a great advan- 
tage in war, which resulted, at last, in an enduring 
friendship beUveen the rival nations. 

Bordering on the Esquimaux on the west, and also 
near the Chippewas, are the Knistenaux, or Cree In« 
dians, who inhabit a wide space of country. They are 
a well formed race, and their women are the hand- 
somest of the Indian females. They are said to be 
hospitable, generous, and mild ; not very careful of 
speaking the truth, but otherwise honest, so that they 
are permitted to go about the trading posts without re- 
straint. They have carried on long and bloody wars 
with the Blackfeet. These are more powerful in frame, 
as well as more numerous ; and though the Knistenaux 
warriors have been much reduced, they have often 
proved themselves, by their superior agility, a full 
match for their warlike foes. They are probably a 
portion of the Chippewas, whom they are said much 
to resemble both in appearance and language. 


244 


VARIOUS TRIBES OF 


The Assinniboins, or Stone Indians, though their ap- 
pearance is prepossessing, are represented as great 
thieves, stealing whatever they can lay their hands on, 
especially horses. They are at perpetual war with 
the Slave Indians, who live further west, and whom 
they resemble. . They are desperate and daring. The 
Assinniboins are supposed to have belonged originally 
to the Sioux, as they are very much like them both in 
their features and manners. 

The Chippewayans, being the s^ame as the Chippe- 
was in the United States, are divided into many 
tribes. They differ from the Crees as to hospitality, 
for they never give or receive with a good grace. 
Their disputes are generally settled by wrestling, and 
the victor of the match may carry off the wife of the 
vanquished as his prize. 

The powerful nation of the Sioux, or Dahcotahs, oc- 
cupy in part the region west of the Mississippi, near 
the Falls of St. Anthony, though the main body of them 
are found on the Upper Missouri. These are the same 
Indians whom Carver calls the Naudowessies, and have 
always been great warriors. They are divided into 
numerous bands, each called after the *name of its chief, 
as the Black Dog’s band, the Red Wing’s band, &c. 
They have ever been at war with the Chippewas, 
and are the mortal foes of the Osages, whom they have 
greatly reduced, and who hold them in great dread. 
They occupy a wide extent of country, and the main 
object of their contention with the Chippewas, for two 
hundred years, is stated to have been the territory 
from Rum' River to the Riviere de Corbeau, both parties 
claiming it as their own. They have conquered and 
destroyed vast numbers of their red brethren, and havo 


NORTHERN AND WESTERN INDIANS. 


245 


swept :he whole region extending from the banKS of the 
Mississippi to the mouth of the Great Platte, together 
with the plains that lie to the north, between the Mis- 
sissippi and the Black Hills. They form six dis- 
tinct tribes, comprising about 28,000 souls, subsisting 
chiefly on buffalo’s meat and the wild fruits of the 
forest. They also use the native rice, of which they 
gather many thousand bushels. A revolted band of 
this nation, called the Osinpoilles, said to consist of 
8,000 persons, . live near the Rocky Mountains. 

Gatlin divides the Sioux nation into the Mississippi 
Sioux and the Missouri Sioux, He says that they are 
separated into forty-two bands, or families, each having 
a chief ; these acknowledge a head chief, to whom 
they are subordinate. 

The Mississippi branch, being near to the white set- 
tlements, are somewhat advanced in civilization, yet 
form but an imperfect sample of the nobler warriors 
who live on the banks of the Missouri, and roam over 
the plains between that river and the Rocky Moun- 
tains. At the time Gatlin visited them, the head chief 
of the Sioux was Plawanjetah, greatly renowned for 
his prowess in war and the chase. Of him we are 
furnished with the following story. 

Hawanjetah had, in some way, been the accidental 
cause of the death of his only son, a very fine youth ; 
and so great was the anguish of his mind, at times, 
that he became frantic and insane. In one of these 
moods he mounted his favorite war-horse, with his bow 
and arrows in his hand, and dashed off at full speed 
upon the prairies, repeating the most solemn oath, 
“ tliat he would slay the first living thing that fell in 

21 ♦ 


246 


VARIOUS rRIBES OF 



hi 3 way, be it man or beast, friend or foe.” No one 
da.red to follow him, and after he had been absent an 
hour or two, his horse came back to the village with 
two arrows in his body, and covered with blood 1 
Fears of the most serious kind were now entertained 
for the fate of the chief, and a party of warriors im- 
mediately mounted their horses, and retraced the ani- 
mal’s tracks to the scene of the tragedy, where they 
found the body of their chief horribly mangled and 
gored by a buffalo bull, whose carcase was stretched 
by his side. 

A close examination of the ground was then made 
by the Indians, who ascertained by the tracks, that 
their unfortunate chief, under his unlucky resolve, had 
met a buffalo bull, in the season when the animal is 
stubborn, and unwilling to run from any one, and had 
incensed the creature by shooting a number of arrows 
into him, which thus brought him into furious combat. 
The chief had then dismounted, and, turning his horse 
loose, shot a couple of arrows into his body, which 
sent him home at full speed. He had then thrown 
aw^ay his bow and quiver, encountering tbe infuriated 
buffalo with his knife alone, — the desperate battle re- 
sulting in the death of both. Many of the bones of 
the chief were broken, as he was gored and stamped 
to death ; and his huge antagonist had laid his body by 
the side of him, weltering in blood from a hundred 
wounds, made by the chief’s long and two-edged 
knife. 

The Sacs, or Sauks, and Foxes, called Renards by tbe 
French, are said to be among the most w^arlike of these 
northern savages. ‘‘ No Indian tribe, except the Sioux, 


NORTHERN AND WESTERN INDIANS. 


247 


has sliown such dari.ig intrepidity and such implacable 
hatred towards other tribes. Their enmity, when once 
excited, was never known to be apposed till the arrow 
or tomahavk had for ever prostrated their foes. For 
centuries, the prairies of Illinois and Iowa were the 
theatre of their exterminating prowess ; and to them 
is to be attributed the almost entire destruction of 
the Missouris, the Illinois, Cahokias, Kaskaskias, and 
Peorias. They were, however, steady and sincere in 
their friendship to the whites, and many is the honest 
settler on the borders of their old dominion, who 
mentions, with the warmest feelings, the respectful 
treatment he has received from them, while he cut the 
logs for his cabin, and ploughed his potato-patch on 
that lonely and unprotected frontier.” 

This tribe formerly owned a great part of the north- 
ern portion of Illinois and much of the State of Mis- 
souri. Their friendly relations to the United States 
were first broken in the year 1832. A treaty had 
been formed between their chiefs and the commis- 
sioners of the United States, by which they sold their 
lands north of the Rock River in the State of Il- 
linois. This portion of the country contained the old 
villages and burial-places of the nation. Though their 
chiefs had seen fit to dispose of this tract, yet the tribe 
could not, without a struggle, yield up the loved and sa- 
cred places where every thing was associated with 
their former history. Some of the chiefs, and among 
them Black Hawk, declared that they had been de- 
ceived by the whites, and that they had not consented 
to such a sale as was attempted to be enforced upon 
them. They therefore took up the hatchet for redress ; 


248 


VARIOUS TRIBES OF 


but the contest terminated, as we have related, in 
their being driven across the Mississippi, and the cap- 
ture of that noted chief. 

Among them are still found some able chiefs, of 
whom Catlin has given portraits ar.d sketches. Keo- 
kuck, the head of the tribe, who is now dead, was said 
to possess superior abilities, and will be recollected by 
many persons who saw him on his visit to Washington 
and some of the Atlantic cities in 1837. 

The Sacs and Foxes were formerly two distinct 
tribes, but have become incorporated, in the course of 
years, into one nation. The following account is given 
of them, by the commanding officer of Fort Armstrong, 
in 1820. “ Question to Masco, a Sauk chief. ‘ What is 
the name of your nation } ’ Answer. ‘ Since we can 
remember, we have never had any other name than 
Saukie or Saukie-uck’ (Saukie is singular, Saukie-uck, 
plural). Question. ‘ What is its original name ? ’ An- 
swer. ‘ Since the Great Spirit made us, we have had 
that name and no other ? ’ Question. ‘ What is the 
name by which it has been known among Europeans ? ’ 
Answtjr. ‘ The French called us by that name; but 
since then, the white people have called us Sauks.’ 

‘‘ Question to Wahballo, principal chief of the Fox 
nation. ‘ What is the name of your nation ? ’ An- 
swer. ‘ Musquak-kie, or Musquak-kie-kuck.’ Question. 
‘ What is its original name ? ’ Answer. ‘ Since the 
Great Spirit made us, we have had that name and no 
other.’" Question. ‘ What are the names by which it 
has been known among Europeans ? ’ Answer. ‘ The 
French called us Renards, and since, the white people 
have called us Foxes.’ Question. ‘ Are any portion 


NORTHERN AND WESTERN INDIANS. 


249 


of your tribes scattered in other parts ? ’ Answer. 
‘ Yes.’ Question. ‘ Where ? ’ Answer. ‘ There are 
some of our people on the Missouri, some near Fort 
Edwards, and some among the Potawatomies.’ Ques- 
tion. ‘ To what nations are you related by language ^ ’ 
Answer. ‘ The Sauk, Fox, and Kickapoo are related 
by language.’ Question. ‘By manners and customs?’ 
Answer. ‘ The Sauk, Fox, ind Kickapoo’s manners and 
customs are alike, except those who have intercourse 
with the whites.’ One of the chiefs added, that the 
Shawanese descended from the Sauk nation. Ques- 
tion. ‘ What tribes do you call grandfather ? ’ An- 
swer. ‘ The Delawares call us and all other Indians 
grandchildren, and we, in return, call them grand- 
father ; but we know of no relationship between them 
and us.’ Question. ‘ What tribes are grandchildren ? ’ 
Answer. ‘ There are no tribes or nations we call grand- 
children.’ Question. ‘ Where is the great council-fire 
for all the tribes connected with your own tribes ? ’ 
Answer. ‘ We have no particular place ; when we 
have any business to transact, it is done at some one 
of our villages.’ ” 

The Otoe Indians consist in part of Missouris, to 
whom they became united after the Sacs and Foxes 
had succeeded in dispersing that tribe. When the 
French first came into the country, the Missouris 
were the most numerous tribe in the vicinity of St. 
Louis. They • are said to have been an energetic 
race, till they were near, y all cut off by their Indian 
foes and the small-pox. This disease has reduced 
and destroyed many an Indian nation, and is still, from 
time to time, performirg its part in wasting them 


250 


VARIOUS TRIBES OF 


away. The site of the ancient village of the Missouris 
is yet to be seen on the north bank of the river which 
bears their name, just below the point at which the 
Grand River enters it. Their territory is said to have em- 
braced the fertile country lying a considerable distance 
along the Missouri above their village, and down to 
llie mouth of the Osage, and thence to the Mississippi. 

One of the most celebrated chiefs of this tribe was 
Shongmunecuthe,* or the letan. The following par- 
ticulars relate to scenes which occurred during a tour 
of the United States commissioner, in the year 1833. 
The party were approaching the Otoe village. “ The 
old warrior,” says the narrator, “ welcomed us cor- 
dially ; then, turning round, he rode with us in the di- 
rection of the village. While he was speaking with 
the commissioner, several dusky forms clambered the 
high bluff before us, and stood upon its dizzy verge, 
watching our movements. Suddenly the letan gal- 
loped a few yards in front, and waved his arm, utter- 
ing a long, shrill yell. It was answered by a whoop 
from those on the hill, who instantly commenced whirl- 
ing their blankets around their heads. Then all was 
silent. 

‘‘For a few moments, w^e were in doubt as to the 
meaning of the manoeuvre ; but suddenly a loud roar 
rose from behind the bluff, and a dark troop of wild 
horsemen burst round its base, and came pouring down 
upon us. There must have been several hundred of 
them. Every man was naked, but glaring with paint. 
They dashed onward, pealing cut scream upon scream, 


* See “ Lives of Famous American Indians.** 


NORTHERN AND WESTERN INDIANS. 


251 - 


' brandishing their spears, and whirling their tomahawks 
around their heads. The old chief was unmoved, and 
sat like a statue upon his horse. The soldiers who 
accompanied us, unaccustomed to such an Indian wel- 
come, began to prepare for action. The band had now 
approached within a hundred yards. We could per- 
ceive the flashing eyes of the straining horses, "v^ith 
the bare teeth, scowling brows, and starting muscles 
of the riders. Bow clattered against bow, tomahawk 
clashed against tomahawk, and voice was blended with 
voice, until the whole din rose in the air, like the wild, 
tumultuous roar of a raging sea. They were close 
upon us, — another moment, and it might seem that 
we were lost ; yet at that moment, at a signal from le- 
tan, the wild horde separated, and, whirling round, 
were enveloped in a cloud of dust. 

“ The old chief smiled, with an air of grim satisfac- 
tion, as he observed the effect produced upon us by his 
warriors ; then, raising his voice, he joined in the wild 
mUee around us. Horse dashed against horse, as the 
band swept onward in a large circle. Some were hurled 
from their seats ; others clung to the manes of the 
maddened horses. The strong poured down upon the 
weak, and brushed them from their paths. Ever and 
anon, some little pepper-spirited horse, vexed with the 
hustling, would pause to discharge his heels into the 
ribs of his next neighbour ; but before it could be done, 
the crowd would pass on, and he would be borne for- 
ward, in the rushing course of the whirlpool. No one 
regarded his neighbour ; each was under the influence 
of a mad excitement. A giant Indian was dashmg 
around, upon a horse as powerful as himself, at the 


252 


VARIOUS TRIBES OF 


inner verge of the ring. In front of him was another 
on a little nag, who kept near the border for safety. 
Suddenly they came in contact. The powerful steed 
swej)t onward as if he had met with no obstacle. The 
little horse spun out of his path, and his rider threw a 
somerset in the air, landing in the very midst of the 
throng. Fifty hoofs clattered over his head ; but he 
scrambled out, caught his horse, bounded on his back 
with a whoop and a flourish of his tomahawk, and 
pursued his course as if nothing had happened. 

“ After this scene of hubbub and confusion had con- 
tinued for about fifteen minutes, the crowd gradually 
ceased its clamor, and formed in a large circle round 
us, with their horses’ heads towards the party. Pres- 
ently the ring broke, and was extended in two lines, 
through which a band of about thirty warriors slowly 
advanced, to a long, solemn chant, sung by the whole 
troop, and accompanied by a kind of drum. This 
band was formed of the flower of the Indian village. 
None were admitted except those who could boast of 
having taken a certain number of scalps, or of having 
performed an equally honorable service in stealing a 
large number of horses.” In this manner was the 
commissioner welcomed to the Indian villasre. 

O 

A singular story is related by the writer of the above 
extract, respecting one of the braves of the Otoes. 
‘‘ One squaw attracted our attention, from her gigantic 
height. As we approached her, there was a .mascu- 
line coarseness in the features of her face, which ren- 
dered her hideously ugly, and formed a contrast highly 
in favor of the group around her. We afterwards 
learned that this strange being, though now clad in the 


NORTHER^ AND WESTERN INDIANS. 


253 


garb of a female, and performing the most menial of 
their offices, was in reality a man, and had-once rank- 
ed among the proudest braves of the Otoe nation. 
Ilis name had once stood foremost in war and in 
council. He had led on many an expedition against 
their noble, but bitter foes, the Osages. In the midst 
of his bright career, a change came over him. The 
cause was this. He had been for several weeks ab- 
sent upon a war expedition against the enemies of 
his tribe. ,At a little before sunset, on a fine after- 
noon, this band of Indians were seen coming over the 
hills, returning towards their village. The troop of 
way-worn warriors counted less than when they start- 
ed ; but their bundle of scalps, and their fierce brows 
declared that their lost comrades had been avenged. 
In front of them strode the form of the giant brave. 
He was wearied witH. toil and fasting, and, without 
staying to receive the greetings of his fellow-towns- 
men, he hastened to his lodge and threw himself upon 
one of the bear-skins which form an Indian bed. 

He remained for the night. In the morning he 
arose from his couch ; but he was an altered man. A 
change, fearful and thrilling, had come over him. His 
eye was quenched ; his proud step wavered ; and his 
liaughty frame seemed almost sinking beneath the pres- 
sure of some heavy calamity. He collected his family 
around him. He told them that the Great Spirit had 
visited him in a dream, and had said to him that he 
had now reached the height of his fame ; that no voice 
had more weight at the council-fire than his ; that no 
arm was heavier in battle ; and concluded by com- 
manding him henceforth to relinquish all claim to the 

XI. — 22 


254 


VARIOUS TRIBES OF 


rank of a warrior, and assume the dress and duties of 
a female. - The communication was listened to with 
deep sorrow, but with implicit confidence. He then 
made known his determination to the nation. They, 
too, listened gravely and sadly, but admitted the just- 
ness of his views. He next returned to his lodge, 
took down his bow, broke it into atoms, and threw 
them in the fire. He buried his tomahawk and rifle, 
washed the war-paint from his face, and took out the 
eagle-plume from his scalp-lock. After this, he was 
seen no more among the warriors, and took no part in 
the councils ; but, attired as a female, occupied himself 
in the most servile and degrading employments, and 
lived abject, neglected, and scorned by those who once 
gloried in being his followers ! ” 

The Osages are said to have been formerly a brave 
and warlike people, and in good circumstances. But 
disease, and the attacks of the Sioux, of whom they 
were once the hardiest and fiercest enemies, have 
reduced their tribe so that not more than 5,500 
now remain. Treaties have been made with them, 
and various efibrts have been used, but with small 
success, to civilize and teach them. They have se- 
cured to them, for ,the education of their tribe, by 
an arrangement for the sale of their lands to the 
United States, about seventy thousand dollars. Stipu- 
lations have also been entered into to teach them agri- 
cultural pursuits. 

This tribe are still distinguished for their tall, fine 
forms, though they have lost their fame as warriors. 
They have repeatedly moved and jostled along from 
-the head- waters of the White River, and even from 


NORTHERN AND WESTERN INDIANS. 


255 


the banks of the Mississippi, to the Indian territory 
bordering on the Creeks, where they now are. The 
Kansas, formerly a portion of this nation, have seceded 
from them, and thus impaired their strength. They 
have been, till recently, engaged in war with the 
Pawnees and Camanches, and, though thereby reduced, 
they have a number of able men as chiefs and war- 
riors. 



THE INDIANS WEST OF THE MIS- 
SISSIPPI. 


The Omahaws are said to have formerly been a 
much larger tribe than they are at present, and a terror 
to their neighbours, being able to muster not less than 
a thousand warriors. But in the year 1802, they were 
attacked by the small-pox, and the tribe was reduced 
to about three hundred souls. The survivors, unwilling 
to remain in a place that had proved so fatal to them, 
burned their village, and became, for a time, a wan- 
dering people. But they have since returned to their 
country, north of the River Platte, and built a village 
on the southwest bank of the Missouri. The Pancas, 
having been nearly destroyed by the Sioux, after sev- 
eral removals from the Red River of Lake Winnipeg, 
joined the Omahaws, and, for a time, were merged in 
that tribe, but have now resumed their separate exist- 
ence. These two tribes are allied with the Pawnees 
and, some twenty years since, their chiefs accompanied 
some Pawnees and other Indian warriors to Washing- 
ton, where Big Elk, the Omahaw chief, thus addressed 
the President. 

‘‘ IMy great father, look at me ! look at me, mv 


THE INDIANS WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 257 

father ! My hands are unstained with your blood ; my 
people have never struck the whites, and the whites 
have never struck them. It is not the case with other 
red -skins. Mine is the only nation that has spared the 
Long Knives. I am a chief, but not the only one in my 
nation ; there are other chiefs who raise their crests by 
my side. I have always been the friend of the Long 
Knives, and, before this chief” (pointing to Major 
O’Fallon) “ came among us, I suffered much in sup- 
port of the whites. I was often reproached for being 
their friend ; but when my father came among us, he 
strengthened m> arms, and I soon towered over the 
rest.” 

In reference k the proposition made him to have 
people come among them to teach them the arts of 
agriculture, he said : — The Great Spirit made my 
skin red, and he made us to live as we do now ; and I 
believe, that, when the Great Spirit placed us upon this 
earth, he consulted our happiness. We love our coun- 
try, we love our customs and habits. I wish that you 
would permit us to enjoy them as long as I live. When 
we become hungry and naked ; when the game of the 
country becomes exhausted, and misery encompasses 
our families ; then, and not till then, do I want those 
good people among us. Then they may lend us a 
helping hand ; then show us the wealth of the earth ; 
the advantages and sustenance to be derived from its 
culture.” 

In the recent report of the Commissioner for Indian 
Affairs, he says, “ The agent states that the Omahaws 
waited on him, previous to their starting on heir sum- 
mer hunt, and most earnestly begged for arms and 

17 22 * 


258 THE INDIANS WEST OF THE BIISSISSIIPT. 

ammunition to enable them to defend themselves against 
their enemies, declaring, ‘ If our great father will now 
furnish us arms and ammunition, we will defend our- 
selves.’ The agent remarks, further, ‘ The Sioux, 
from all that we can learn, are resolved on extermi- 
nating this little band of Indians. Some few days 
after the visit of the Omahaws, above spoken of, I was 
called on by an express from the Omahaw camp, ask- 
ing for the assistance of the troops to defend them 
against their enemies, and to retake thirty-six horses, 
which the Sioux had taken in a skirmish, a few days 
previous.’ He adds, that, ‘ until the fierce and bloody 
war now prosecuted by the Sioux shall subside, it will 
be in vain to try to prosper the Omahaws in agricul- 
tural pursuits. — Owing to the game receding, the 
Omahaws have to seek food in the more distant prair- 
ies, which makes them the more accessible ; and unless 
they can be provided for in agricultural pursuits, where 
they will be more remote from their harassing ene- 
my, the same fierce and cruel war, in all probability, 

will continue. The Omahaws have this season return- 

% 

ed to their old village, near the Missouri River, and, 
from present appearances, they will have ta abandon 
it again.’ ” 

The Pawnees own an extensive country on the Great 
Platte River, lying west of the Otoes and Omahaws. 
They still retain their fondness for savage life, and 
keep up among them many of their old customs. Va- 
rious treaties have been formed with them, but, as yet, 
they evince no desire for civilization. They are divid- 
ed into the Grand Pawnees, the Tapage Pawnees, 
be Wolf Pawnees, or Pawnee Loups, and the Re- 


THE INDIANS WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 259 


publican Pawnees. They were formerly a numerous 
nation ; but the small-pox being introduced in 1832, 
by the fur-traders and whisky-sellers, swept off ten 
thousand or more of them, in a few months, so that 
they do not now number more than ten or twelve 
thousand. They are a warlike people, and live in four 
villages, several miles apart, having their' allies, the 
Omahaws and Otoes, so near them, that they may act in 
concert in case of invasion. The Pawnee chief who 
/isited Washington, at the time before alluded to, in 
company with Major O’Fallon, like the Omahaw chief, 
declined the offer of teachers, on the ground that the 
Great Spirit made them for the chase, and intended 
them “ to go to war, to take scalps, steal horses, and 
triumph ove their enemies.” 

One of the delegation, at this time, was a Pawnee 
brave, of a noble size, figure, and countenance. At the 
early age of twenty-one, his heroic deeds acquired for 
him the rank of the ‘‘ bravest of the braves.” The 
following incident was related of him. An unfortu- 
nate female of the Paduca nation, as the Camanches 
are called by them, having been taken prisoner, was 
destined to torture. The fatal hour arrived ; the 
trembling victim, far from her home and her friends, 
was fastened to the stake ; the whole tribe was assem- 
bled on the surrounding plain to witness the awful 
scene. Just when the funeral pile was to be kindled, 
and the whole multitude of spectators were excited 
with expectation, this young warrior, having prepared 
two fleet horses, with the necessary provisions, sprang 
from his seat, rushed through the crowd, liberated the 
victim, seized her in his arms, placed her on one of 


260 THE INDIANS WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 

’ihe horses, mounted the other himself, and made the 
utmost speed towards the nation and friends of the 
captive. The multitude, struck dumb and nerveless 
by the boldness of the deed, made no effort to rescue 
their intended victim from her deliverer. They view- 
ed it as the immediate act of the Great Spirit, submit- 
ted to it without a murmur, and quietly retired to their 
village. The young chief accompanied the released 
captive three days, through the wilderness, towards her 
home. He then gave her the horse on which she rode, 
with sufficient food for the remainder of the journey, 
and they parted. On his return to the village, no 
inquiry was made into his conduct, and no censure 
was passed on it. Since this transaction, no human 
sacrifice has been offered in this or any other of the 
Pawnee tribes, and the practice has been thus aban- 
doned. 

On the occasion of the visit of this Pawnee chief to 
Washington, the young ladies of a seminary in that 
city, having heard of the anecdote just related, pre- 
sented him a handsome silver medal, in token of 
commendation of his noble act in rescuing one of their 
sex from a cruel death, closing their address with these 
words : — “ Brother, accept this token of our esteem ; 
a. ways wear it for our sakes ; and wdien again you 
have the power to save a poor woman from death and 
torture, think of this and of us, and fly to her relief 
and her rescue.” 

His reply was to this effect : — “ Sisters, I am glad 
you have heard of the good deed I have done. I did it 
partly in ignorance ; but your gift makes me feel happy, 
and enables me more fully to see that I did right. I 


THE INDIANS WEST OF THE BIISSISSIFPI. 2G1 


shall now be even more ready to listen to the words 
of the white man, for they tell me what is good.” 

The following speech of a Pawnee chief was made 
at Fort Gibson in 1833, and addressed to Mr. Ells- 
worth, the United States commissioner, on taking leave 
of him to return home, after having accompanied him 
on a part of his tour. 

“ I have travelled with my grandfather many miles 
on foot. He came to our village. We ran to meet 
him. We followed him here. We came through 
many villages of hostile bands, whom we never have 
met before. All treated us kindly, and peace is made. 
My heart is glad. I am a wild man, and come naked 
to follow my grandfather ; but I am not ashamed. A 
bird hovers over her young, and takes care of them ; 
so does our Great Father pity and care for us. I feel 
now as though I was born again. I used to worship 
the Great Spirit as my forefathers did ; but now I will 
worship him as the v/hite men do. Every day, when I 
speak to you, I look to the Great Spirit to help me 
speak the truth, and what I say is true. I go out alone 
and speak to the Great Spirit, and ask his aid ; but we 
now ■ look to him together. I am now going home. 
The wild Indians will be glad to hear how we have 
been treated by our enemies, and how our great father 
has spoken to us. Our ears are bored out, and noth- 
ing shall be forgotten.” 

klr. Murray, an English gentleman, who travelled 
among the Indians about eight years since, gives us the 
following sketch. 

“ Within twenty or thirty miles of Fort Leavenworth 
are settled a great variety of Indian tribes, most of 


262 THE INDIANS WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 

them emigrants from tlie country now inhabited by the 
wliites, especially from the States of Illinois and Mich- 
igan. The nearest to the fort are the Kickapoos, who 
are settled in a village distant from it about four miles. 
They are a weak and daily decreasing tribe ; their 
natural properties are much changed by constant com- 
munication with the whites. There is a Methodist 
missionary resident among them. 

‘‘ The fort is supplied with beef and other meat, 
chiefly by a farmer who lives in the Great Bottom, 
immediately opposite to it. Among other articles for 
the supply of the table, one of the most abundant to 
be met with here, is the cat-fish. I found it some- 
what coarse, but not unpalatable eating. These fish 
are caught, of a most enormous size, and in great 
quantities, by the settlers on the banks of the river ; 
one of whom told me that he caught four in the course 
of one morning, weighing above fifty pounds each. 

“ On the 4th of July, the usual commemoration took 
place, of firing twenty-four guns ; after which cere- 
mony we adjourned to an excellent dinner, and madei- 
ra and champagne were the order of the day. We 
had spent an hour or two in the festivities of the table, 
when news was brought in that a hundred and fifty 
Pawnees had arrived, under the guidance of Mr. 
Dougherty, one of the principal Indian agents ; and, 
upon an invitation from the officers, twelve or fourteen 
of their chief warriors came into the mess.-room. I 
had already seen many Indians, but none so wild and 
unsophisticated as these genuine children of the wil- 
derness. They entered the room with considerable 
ease and dignity, shook hands with us all, and sat down 


THE INDIANS WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 263 

comfortably to cigars and madeira. 1 was quite as- 
tonished at the tact and self-possession' of these Indians, 
two thirds of whom had never been in a settlement of 
white men before, nor had ever seen a fork, or table, 
or chair in their lives ; yet, without asking questions, 
or appearing to observe what was passing, they caught 
the idea with intuitive readiness, and during the whole 
dimer were not guilty of a single absurdity or breach 
of decorum. 

‘‘ The dress of these Indians consisted of a belt of 
deer-skin round the middle, with a flap passing be- 
tween the legs, and fastened again to the belt behind. 
Their legs were covered with tight leggins of deer- 
skin, and their feet by moccasins ; while their should- 
ers were loosely and gracefully covered, or half cov- 
ered, by a blanket or buffalo-skin. Most of them had 
ear-rings, bead-necklaces, and armlets ; and the two 
principal chiefs wore round their necks a large medal 
each, on which was engraved the head of the late 
president of the United States. The greater part of 
them were lusty, and a few even fat, giving no out- 
ward evidence of the privations to which their mode 
of life renders them so liable. Generally speaking, 
they were of middle height, with fine chests, arms 
well proportioned, but not muscular, and remarkably 
fine-shaped legs. I do not think there was a counte- 
nance among them that could be pronounced hand- 
some, though several were pleasing and good-humor- 
ed ; but the prevalent character of their expression 
was haughty, impenetrable reserve, easily distinguish- 
able through the mask of frank conciliation, which 
their present object rendered it expedient for them to 
wear. 


264 THE INDIANS WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 

“ As we, in our mirth, sang one or two choral songs, 
we called upon our red brethren. They rose all at 
once ; and I never shall forget the effect of that first 
Indian chorus which I ever heard. Each singer began, 
by strange and uncouth sounds, to work his mind and 
lungs up to the proper pitch of excitement ; and when, 
at length, their shrill and terrible cry rose to its full 
height, its effect was astounding, and sufficient to deaf- 
en a delicate ear. Then, again, they would allow 
their strain to fall into a monotonous cadence, to which 
they kept time with inflections of the head and body, 
and again burst forth into full chorus of mingled yell 
and howl.” 

During Mr. Murray’s stay among the Pawnees, he 
witnessed the following scene. 

“ While I was sitting near my packs of goods, like 
an Israelite in Monmouth Street, an elderly chief ap- 
proached, and signified his wish to trade. Our squaws 
placed some meat before him, after which I gave him 
the pipe ; and, in the meantime, had desired my ser- 
vant to search my saddle-bags, and to add to the heap 
of salable articles every thing of every kind beyond 
what was absolutely necessary for my covering on my 
return. A spare shirt, handkerchief, and waistcoat 
were thus draughted ; and, among other things, was a 
kind of elastic flannel waistcoat, o^made for wearing 
next to the skin, and to be drawn over the head, as it 
was without buttons or any opening in front. It was 
too small for me, and -altogether so tight and uncom- 
fortable, although elastic, that I had determined to part 
with it. 

‘‘ To this last article my new customer took a great 


THE INDIANS WEST OF THE BIISSISSIPPI. 265 

fancy ; and he made me describe to him the method 
of putting it on, and the warmth and comfort of it 
when on. Be it remembered that he was a very large, 
corpulent man, probably weighing sixteen stone. I 
knew him to be very good-natured, as I had hunted 
once with his son ; and, on returning to his lodge, the 
father had feasted me, chatted with me by signs, and 
taught me some of that most extraordinary Indian 
method of communication. He said he should like to 
try on the jacket ; and as he threw the buffalo-robe off 
his huge shoulders, 1 could scarcely keep my gravity, 
when I compared their dimensions with the garment 
into which we were about to attempt their introduction. 
However, by dint of great industry and care, we con- 
trived to get him into it. In the body, it was a foot too 
short, and fitted him so close that every thread was 
stretched to the uttermost ; the sleeves reached a very 
little way below his elbow. However, he looked upon 
his arms and person with great complacency, and 
elicited many smiles from the squaws at the drollery of 
his attire ; but, as the weather was very hot, he soon 
began to find himself too warm and confined, and he 
wished to take it off again. He moved his arms, — he 
pulled the sleeves, — he twisted and turned himself in 
every direction, but in vain. The woollen jacket was 
an admirable illustration of the Inferno of Dante and 
Virgil, and of matrimony as described by many poets; 
it was easy enough to get into it, sed revocare gradum 
was a difficult matter indeed. The old man exerted 
himself till the drops of perspiration fell from his fore- 
head ; but had I not been there, he must either have 
made some person cut it open, or have sat in it until 
this minute. 


XI. — 23 


2G6 THE INDIANS WEST OE THE MISSISSIPPI. 

“ For some time, I enjoyed this scene with malicious 
and demure gravity, and then I showed him that he 
must try and pull it off over his head. A lad, who 
stood by, then drew it till it enveloped his nose, eyes, 
mouth, and ears ; his arms were raised above his head, 
and for some minutes he remained in that melancholy 
plight, blinded, choked, and smothered, with his hands 
rendered useless for the time. He rolled about, sneez- 
ing, sputtering, and struggling, until all around were 
convulsed with laughter ; and the squaws shrieked, in 
their ungovernable mirth, in a manner that I had never 
before witnessed. At length I slit a piece of the edge, 
and released the old fellow from his straight-waistcoat 
confinement. He turned it round often in his hands, 
and made a kind of comic-grave address to it, of which 
I could only gather a few words. I believe the import 
of them was, that it would be a ‘ good creature in the 
ice-month at the village.’ I was so pleased with his 
good humor, that I gave it to him, and told him to 
warm his squaw with it in the ice-month.” 

Mr. Murray gives us, also, the following sketch. 

“ On the 6th, I rode out with Captain Hunter to the 
Kickapoo village, which is about five miles from the 
fort. The Kickapoos are a branch of the great north- 
ern nation of Indians, which includes the Potawatomies, 
ihe Chippewas, and other numerous tribes. Their for- 
mer territory has been bought by the United States, 
and this tract of country, along the southern bank of 
the Missouri, allotted in its stead ; beside which, the 
United States engaged to supply them, for a certain 
time, with a stipulated quantity of provisions, clothes, 
&c. Living so near the settlements, they have lost 


THE INDIANS WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 267 


most of the traits of their original character, and are a 
reduced, debased race ; nevertheless, they are now in- 
teresting in a religious point of view. A min.ature 
Mahomet has arisen among them, and the tribe is di- 
vided into two sects, the religious and irreligious ; 
these are pretty equal in number, and the former ac 
knowledge and obey, as secular chief, the prophet who 
teaches the new creed. This man preaches very good 
and enlightened morality. He pretends to have seen 
the Great Spirit in a vision, and to have received his 
command to proclaim his truths and precepts to the 
Indians. I should have been astonished at the excel- 
lence of his doctrine, and the soundness of his religious 
views, if I had not learned from a gentleman, long res- 
ident among them, the fountain from which he drew 
his knowledge. It appears, that, when very young, he 
learned the English language thoroughly, and, in re- 
mote parts of the State of Illinois, attended many 
Christian meetings. He thus became acquainted with 
the outlines of the Christian scheme, and with the mo- 
rality which the Bible inculcates ; and afterward graft- 
ing the knowledge thus acquired upon his Indian preju- 
dices and superstitions, he has used it as an engine of 
personal aggrandizement, and become priest, prophet, 
and chief of half his nation. 

‘‘ I attended a preaching, which was held under a 
large, open, reed-thatched shed. The meeting w'as 
conducted with the greatest decorum ; all the men un- 
der or near the shed stood uncovered ; but in this, as 
in all the Christian churches that I have seen in any 
country, the greater part of the assembly were females. 
Each was supplied with a flat board, on which were 


268 THE INDIANS WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 

carved symbols, wlrlch answered the purpose of letters, 
and enabled them to chime in with the prayer or hymn 
of the preacher. 

“ I regretted to find that the officiating preacher was 
not the ‘ great prophet himself,’ hut one of his favorite 
disciples. He was a man of middle age, with a quiet, 
and earnest expression of countenance, and a voice 
capable of much modulation and variety of tone ; he 
spoke without the slightest hesitation. I placed myself 
within hearing, and, keeping at my elbow the half-breed 
French interpreter, took down in pencil the following 
scraps from his lecture : — ‘ Look up at the heavens ! 
look around you at the earth fertile with fruit, and the 
animals given for our use. All these show the good- 
ness of the Great Spirit. If he w^ere not good, much 
better than any of us, he would he angry with us, for 
we are all had, and disobey him ; he would punish, 
and not forgive us. But if we are good and obey him, 
w^e are happier and more flourishing here ; all goes 
well with us. We are but half-taught children ; we 
are poor Indians. It is only a few years since we 
learned his will and commands, through his prophet ; 
but if we ask him, and obey him, we shall daily grow 
wiser and happier ’ ; — and so on in a similar strain. 
After this sermon, a hymn was sung. It was a low, 
melancholy, and not unmusical air, and was rendered 
wild and peculiar by the closing of each verse m the 
minor key. I left the scene with strong emotions of 
interest and compassion, and must own that I entertain 
hopes, though but faint ones, that this twilight may be 
the forerunne r of the sunrise of the gospel among 
them.” 


THE INDIANS WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 


269 


There is another tribe of Indians, called Pawnee 
Piets, who live on the banks of the Red River, in alli- 
ance with the Camanches, and are sometimes reckoned 
as belonging to the Pawnees, though a thousand miles 
from them.- Catlin asserts that “there is no family 
resemblance, nor any similarity in their language and 
customs.” Their village is described as being a large 
one, containing some five or six hundred wigwams. 
The nation consists of from eight to ten thousand per- 
sons. At a council held while Catlin was present. 
Colonel Dodge restored to them two Pawnee girls, who 
had been purchased from their captors, the Osages, 
and received in return a little boy, the son of Judge 
Martin, whose family had been murdered on the False 
Washita. On this occasion, “ the heart o/ the venera- 
ble old chief seemed to melt at the evidence of the 
white man’s friendship ; he rose on his feet, and, taking 
Colonel Dodge in his arms, and placing his left cheek 
against the left cheek of the Colonel, held him for 
some minutes without saying a word, whilst tears were 
flowing from his eyes. He then embraced each offi- 
cer in turn, in the same silent and affectionate man- 
ner.” The chief, with two others, accompanied Col- 
onel Dodge to Fort Gibson, and formed a treaty with 
the United States. Their residence is among the Rocky 
Mountains. 

Close by the Pawnee Piets are the Kioways, who 
are described as being a fine looking race of men, 
very tall, some of them being seven feet high, and 
having a Roman outline of head. They are decidedly 
distinct from the Pawnee Piets and the Camanches, and 
also differ from theman language and customs. - , , 

23 » 


270 THE INDIANS WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 

The Camanches are supposed to be at least twenty 
thousand strong. Catlin even estimates them as high 
as thirty or forty thousand, and says they are able to 
show some six or seven thousand warriors, well mount- 
ed and well armed. They are a very warlike tribe, 
traversing the immense space of country extending far 
north and south, and east and west, from the Red River 
,0 the Pacific Ocean. They were long the dreaded 
enemy of the Spaniards, as they now are of the Mex- 
icans, on whom they make frequent incursions, and 
bear off prisoners, especially female children, whom 
they adopt and marry. About sixty years ago, the 
daughter of the governor-general of Chihuahua was 
stolen by them. The father, by an agent, some weeks 
after, was allowed to ransom her. But she refused to 
return to her parents, and sent them Avord that the In- 
dians had tattooed her face, and given her to be the 
Avife of a young man of their tribe ; that her husband 
treated her AA^ell, and had reconciled her to his mode 
of life. In her present circumstances, therefore, she 
preferred remaining where she Avas. She continued 
in the nation, and raised a family of children. 

The Camanches have fought many a bloody battle 
Avith their enemies, and have always succeeded in 
preserving their independence. They particularly ex- 
cel in catching and taming for use the Avild horses of 
the plains, and form a terrible cavalry in Avar, par- 
ticularly as they are able, in a moment, to throw 
themselves over to the opposite side of the horse, 
so as to be screened from their enemy, while they 
can shoot their arrows, eitner over or under the 
horse’s neck, with such force as to pierce through 


THE INDIANS WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 


271 


a buffalo. They also carry, in war, a shield, and 
a lance of fourteen feet in length, which they use 
with great effect. Numerous instances of their in- 
trepidity are on record. The following incident is 
related by Farnham in his travels. About the middle 
of June, 1839, a band of fifty or sixty crossed the river 
in the night, and concealed themselves near where 
the animals of the establishment were feeding during 
the day. As they concealed themselves in the bushes, 
they were not perceived by the Mexican horse-guard, 
who, after having driven out his charge within reach 
of the guns of the fort, took his station, as usual, 
beyond them, holding his horse by a long rope, and 
suffering him to graze around him. While here on 
duty, the Indians suddenly rose, and ran towards the 
animals with horrible yells, seeking to drive them 
across the river. The guard, however, nothing daunt- 
ed, mounted quickly, and drove his horse at full speed 
among them. The mules and horses, hearing his 
voice amidst the frightening yells of the savages, im- 
mediately started at a lively pace for the fort ; but the 
Indians were on all sides, and bewildered them. The 
guard still pressed them onward and called for help, 
and on they rushed, despite of the Indians to the con- 
trary. The battlements were covered with men They 
shouted encouragement to the brave guard, ‘ Onward, 
onward ! ’ and the injunction was obeyed. He spurred 
bis horse to his greatest speed from side to side, and 
whipped the hindermost of the band with his leading 
rope. He had saved every animal ; he was within twen- 
ty yards of the open gate, when he fell ; three arrows 
from the bows of the Camancles had cloven his heart. 


272 THE INDIANS WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 

And, relieved of him, the lords of the quiver gathered 
their prey, and drove them to the borders of Texas, 
without injury to life or limb. Thus forty or fifty 
mules, and their best servant’s life, were lost to the 
Messieurs Bents in a single day.” 

The Appachees are a numerous tribe of Indians, es- 
timated at 20,000, who inhabit the country lower down 
than the Camanches. But little is known of them. 
The Eutaws, estimated at 19,200, dwell in the midst 
of the Bocky Mountains, occupying alternately both 
sides of the Eutaw or Anahuac range. They are 
continually migrating from one side to the other, still 
holding the superstitions of their fathers, though a few 
of them, principally half-breeds, have embraced the 
Catholic faith. 

The Arrapahoes reside on the western side of the 
Rocky Mountains, and are said to number about 8,000 
souls. They wander, in the winter season, around 
the head-waters of one branch of the Colorado of the 
West, and in summer hunt the buffalo farther east. 
They are said to be a brave, thrifty, and hospitable 
people. They derive their name, which signifies dog- 
eaters^ from fattening and eating that animal. They 
admit whites, who desire it, to the privilege of citizen- 
ship on certain conditions. 

The Shoshonies, or Snakes, reside north of the Ar- 
rapahoes, and are also a wandering tribe, who inhabit 
that part of the Rocky Mountains which lies on the 
Grand and Green River branches of the Colorado of 
the West, the valley of the Great Bear River, the hab- 
itable shores of the Great Salt Lake, and a tract of 
country on the Snake ^ River. -Some of them subsist 


THE INDIANS WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 


273 


principally on roots ; while others live on fish. They are 
said to own many horses, and, from their first acquaint 
ance with the whites, to have been averse to war and 
cruelty. They have, however, been obliged to fight with 
the Blackfeet, Crows, Sioux, and Eutaws, to defend 
portions of their territory ; and these tribes have former- 
ly been much accustomed to send parties to rob them 
of their horses. They are described as being an intelli- 
gent race, possessing many domestic comforts, and 
opposed to immoraLty. They refuse the use of intox- 
icating liquor, saying, “ It unmans us for the hunt and 
for defending ourselves against our enemies ; it causes 
unnatural divisions among ourselves ; it makes the 
chief less than his Indian ; and by its use, imbecility 
and ruin would come upon the Shoshonie tribe.” 

The Nezperces and Chinnooks, or Flatheads, with 
the Skyuse Indians, are found near the mouth and 
branches of the Columbia River. Catlin thinks the 
Chinnooks are related to the Choctaws, and tells a tra- 
dition of the latter which seems to favor this opinion. 
The Nezperces excited much interest a few years 
ago, in consequence of a delegation which came from 
them across the Rocky Mountains, saying they had 
Iteai'd from a white man that the religion of the whites 
was better than theirs, and they would be lost if they 
did not embrace it, and they came to inquire for teach- 
ers Missionaries were sent among them, who are 
said to be in some measure successful in their efforts. 

The code of laws existing among this tribe, as 
given in the last report of the Commissioner of. In- 
dian Affairs, is very strict, and exhibits a determination 
on the part of the people to have justice truly admin* 

• 18 


274 THE INDIANS WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI, 

istered. Murder and arson are punished with death , 
the burning of an outbuilding with six months’ im- 
prisonment, fifty lashes, and the payment of all dam- 
ages. Careless burning of a house subjects the; person 
doing it to the payment of damages. 

The Chiens ar^ a small tribe, about 3,000 in num- 
ber, neighbours to the Sioux on the west. They are 
a fine race of men, scarcely a man in the tribe being 
less than six feet in height. They are said to be the 
richest in horses of any tribe on the continent, living, 
as they do, where the greatest herds are grazing on 
the prairies ; these they catch in great numbers, and 
vend to the Sioux, Mandans, and other tribes, as well 
as to the fur-traders. They are described as dexterous 
horsemen and fierce warriors, having carried on an un- 
ceasing contest with the Pawmees and the Blackfeet. 

The Crows are a wandering tribe, usually found in 
the upper plains around the head-waters of the Great 
Platte, Snake, and Yellowstone Rivers. They are va- 
riously estimated at from 5,500 to 7,000. The general 
opinion seems to be, that they are the most arrant 
rascals among the western mountains. The traders 
say, ‘‘ They have never been known to keep a promise, 
or do an honorable act.” No white man or Indian 
trusts them. Murder and robbery are their principal 
employments. Catlin is disposed to modify this view 
of the tribe, though he admits that such is their repu- 
tation. He says they are distinguished for their ele- 
gant lodges, and their beautiful skin dresses. They 
are always at war with the Blackfeet, in consequence 
of which they suffer greatly in battle. 

The Blackfeet are a well known numerous and wa: 


THE INDIANS WEST OF THE MISSISSIPI., 275 

like tribe of Indians residins: on llie branches of the 
Missouri above the Great Falls. Various estimates have 
been made of their numbers. Gatlin supposes that they 
may reckon as many as 40,000 or 50,000. In the 
year 1828, they suffered very severely by the small-pox, 
which was introduced among them in consequence of 
their stealing a blanket from the steamboat of the 
American Fur Company on the Yellowstone, which 
had belonged to a man who had died of that disease. 
The infected article, being carried to their encamp- 
ment upon the left fork of the Missouri, spread 
the dreadful infection among the whole tribe. They 
were amazed at the appearance of the disease. The 
red blotch, the bile, the congestion of the lungs, liver, 
and brain, were all new to their medicine-men ; and 
the corpse, falling in pieces while they buried it, struck 
horror into every heart. In their frenzy and igno- 
rance, they increased the number of their sweat-ovens 
upon the banks of the stream ; and whether the burn- 
ing fever or the want of nervous action prevailed, 
whether frantic with pain, or tottering in death, they 
were placed in them, sweated profusely, and plunged 
into the snowy waters of the river. The mortality 
which followed this treatment was like that of the 
great plague in London. They endeavoured for a 
time to bury the dead, but these were soon more nu- 
m.erous than the living. Mad with superstition and 
fear, brother forsook sister ; father his son ; mother 
her sucking child. They fled to tlie elevated vales 
among the western heights, where the influences of the 
climate, operating on the already well-spent energies 
of the disease, restored the remainder of the tribe to 


276 THE INDIANS WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 

health. To this hour do the bones .of seven or eight 
thousand Blackfeet lie unburied among the decaying 
lodges of their deserted, village on the banks of the 
Yellowstone. 

The Blackfeet are a ferocious tribe, numbering 
among their enemies all the nations within their reach. 
They roam about, seeking their foes wherever they 
are to be found. To show the hostilitv of the other tribes 
to the Blackfeet, Catlin relates the following event as 
having occurred when he w'as present. A party of 
Knistenaux came from the north for the purpose of 
making their summer’s trade at the station of one of 
the fur companies ; and whilst there, a party of Black- 
feet came from the west, also to trade. They en- 
camped on opposite sides of the fort, and spent some 
weeks together in apparent good-fellowship, their arms, 
according to the regulation at the fort, being locked up 
in the arsenal. The Knistenaux had completed their 
trade, yet loitered about the premises, until all, both 
Indians and white men, were getting tired of their com- 
pany, and wished them quietly away. When they 
were ready to start, with their goods packed on their 
backs, their arms w^ere given them, and they started, 
bidding every body, both friends and foes, a hearty 
farewell. They went out of the fort, and though the 
party gradually moved off, one of them, undiscovered, 
loitered about, until he got an opportunity to poke 
the muzzle of his gun between the pickets. He 
then fired it at one of the chiefs of the Blackfeet, 
who stood within a few paces, talking with Mr. McKen- 
zie, and shot him with two musket-bullets through his 
body ! The Blackfeet and the Frenchmen in the fort 


THE INDIANS WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 277 


/an forth with their arms, and, after several shots were 
exchanged, drove ofl* the Knistenaux, they having lost 
one man, and having several others wounded. 

The Blackfeet are described as of a Herculean 
make, though of middling stature ; they have broad 
shoulders, and great expansion of chest. They prob- 
ably acquired their name from the black leggins or 
moccasins which they wear. They are divided into 
four bands or families, the Pe-a-gans, of five hundred 
lodges, the Blackfoot band, of 450 lodges, the Blood 
band, of 450 lodges, and the Small Robes, of 250 
lodges.* These four bands comprise about 1,650 lodges, 
and, probably averaging ten to a lodge, amount to about 
16,500 souls. There are also, in the vicinity, the 
Grosventres des Prairies, 430 lodges ; Circees, of 
220 lodges ; and Cotornes, of 250 lodges. These have 
languages distinct from each other and from the Black- 
feet, yet they seem to be their confederates, and hunt, 
eat, light, and intermarry with them. 

The Minetarees, a small tribe of about 1,500 souls, 
reside in three villages, consisting of earth-covered 
lodges, on the, banks of the Knife River, a branch of 
the Missouri. This people are supposed to be a part 
of the Crows, who, at some remote period, being cut 
off by their enemies, and unable to return, threw 
themselves upon the hospitality of the Mandans, with 
whom they became, in a measure, joined. In language 
and customs they are said much to resemble the Crows, 
though they have also become somewhat assimilated to 
the Mandans. They have a tradition to the following ef- 
fect. They came to the vicinity of the Mandans, poor, 
and without wigwams or horses. They were nearly 

XL — 24 


278 THE INDIANS WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 

all women, as their warriors had been killed off in 
fight ; the Mandans would not take them into their 
village, nor let them come nearer than where they are 
now living, but they assisted them to build wigwams. 

Their chief. Black Moccasin, who treated Lewis and 
Clarke with great kindness, when they crossed the 
Rocky Mountains, in 1819, was still living when Gat- 
lin was among them, though probably more than a 
hundred years old. Lewis and Clarke constituted him 
chief of the tribe, and such has he been ever since. 
He remembered and inquired very earnestly after Red 
Hair and Long Knife, as he called those officers, from 
the fact that one had red hair and the other wore a 
broadsword. The Minetarees are a bold and daring 
tribe, often carrying war into their enemies’ country, 
and thus greatly diminishing their numbers. 

Mr. Catlin gives an account of the following scene 
which occurred while he was with this tribe. ‘‘ The 
sensation I created,” says he, “ among the Minetarees, 
while on the Upper Missouri, by taking from amongst 
my painting apparatus an old number of the New York 
Commercial Advertiser, edited by my kind and tried 
friend. Colonel Stone, was extraordinary. The Min- 
etarees thought that I was mad, when they saw me, 
for hours together, with my eyes fixed upon its pages. 
They had different and various conjectures about it ; 
the most current of which was, that 1 was looking at 
it to cure my sore eyes, and they called it ‘ the medi- 
cine-cloth for sore eyes.’ I, at length, put an end to 
this and several equally ignorant conjectures, by read- 
ing passages in it, which were interpreted to them, and 
' ne object of th ^ paper fully explained ; after which, 


THE INDIANS WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 279 

it was looked upon as a much greater mystery than 
before, and several liberal offers were made me for it, 
which I was obliged to refuse, having already received 
a beautifully garnished robe for it from the hands of a 
young son of Esculapius, who told me, if he could 
employ a good interpreter to explain every thing in it, 
he could travel amongst the Minetarees, and Mandans, 
and Sioux, and exhibit it after I was gone, getting rich 
with presents, and adding greatly to his list of medi- 
cines, as it would make him a great medicine-man. I 
left with the poor fellow his painted robe and the news- 
paper ; and just before I departed, I saw him unfold it 
to show some of his friends, when he took from around 
it some eight or ten folds of birch-bark and deer-skins, 
all of which were carefully enclosed in a sack made 
of the skin of a polecat, and undoubtedly destined to 
become, and to be called, his mystery or medicine- 
bag.” 

The Ricarees are esteemed a part of the tribe of 
the Pawnees, as their language is nearly the same. 
They received Lewis and Clarke with great cordiality , 
but, owing to the abuses which they have suffered 
from the traders, they now harbour the most inveterate 
feelings of hostility towards the whole civilized race. 

We come now to the Mandans, a tribe, a few years 
since, numbering about two thousand, but who are 
said to be now extinct. They appear to have been 
a remarkable and peculiar people, differing greatly 
from most other Indians. The impression has pre- 
vailed among many individuals who became acquaint- 
ed with them, that they were the descendants of Ma- 
doc, the Welsh chief, who is supposed to have landed 





THE INDIANS WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 281 


on the coast with a co.ony. This opinion is sus- 
tained by Mr. Catlin, who has given a full and inter- 
esting account of the peculiarities of the nation. He 
claims to have traced them up from the banks of the 
Ohio to their last residence, where he found them. In 
support of his views, he urges that there is a diversity 
of complexion among them, some being dark, and 
some ligh.; that blue and gray eyes are often met 
with ; and that striking resemblances to the Welsh, in 
language, manners, and customs, are to be found. 

Dr. Morse, in his Indian Report, tells us that he was 
informed by a French priest at Detroit, that, in 1793, 
he was told at Fort Chartres, that twelve years before. 
Captain Lord, who commanded at this post, had heard 
some of the old people observe, that the Mandan# In- 
dians, who visited the post, could converse intelligibly 
with some Welsh soldiers in the British army. It is 
to be regretted that more attention was not devoted to 
the solution of this interesting question, before the last 
remnant of this people had become extinct. The ac- 
count which Mr. Catlin gives of their warriors shows 
that there were many valiant men among them. The 
robe of one of their chiefs, called Mah-to-toh-pa, or 
the Four Bears, by means of its pictured records, set 
forth that he had been engaged in numerous encoun- 
ters with the Sioux, Chiens, Ricarees, and Assinni- 
boins. The following is the substance of his adven- 
tures. His brother having, been killed by a noted 
Ricaree brave, whose spear was found in his body, 
he drew out the lance and kept it four years, with 
the blood dried on its blade. He then, according to 
an oath he had taken, prepared to avenge his broth- 

24 ♦ 


282 THE INDIANS WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 

er’s death, with the spear by which he had fallen. 
Sallying forth, he brandished the weapon through the 
village, uttering these words : — “ Let every Mandan 
be silent ! Let no one sound the name of Mah-to-toh- 
pa ; let no one ask for him, nor where he is gone, 
until you hear him sound the war-cry in front of the 
village ; he will then enter it, and show you the blood 
of Won-ga-tap. The blade of this lance shall drink 
the heart’s blood of Won-ga-tap, or Mah-to-toh-pa shall 
mingle his shadow with that of his brother ! ” 

He then directed his course toward the Ricaree 
village. When he approached it, he loitered about the 
wigwam of his destined victim, and, looking through 
the chinks, observed him smoking his last pipe. He 
sa\v»him retire to bed. The village was silent, and 
wrapt in darkness. He now crept softly into the lodge*, 
and seated himself by the fire, where he satisfied his 
appetite from the contents of a pot hanging over it ; 
he then lighted his pipe, after which, stirring up the 
embers until he clearly saw his way, with lance in 
hand, he rose and drove it through the body of his 
enemy. Snatching his scalp from his head, he now 
darted from the lodge, and hurried across the prairie. 
The whole village was roused, but no one knew who 
had dealt the blow. He ran alt night, and lay by 
during the day. On the sixth morning, at sunrise, he 
entered his village, showing the blood of his victim 
dried upon his spear, over that of his brother, while 
the scalp was suspended from the handle of the 
weapon. 

Oi a certai i occasion, a band of one hundred and 
fifty Chien warriors made an assault on the Mandan 


THE INDIANS WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 283 


village at early dawn, drove off a number of horses, 
and look one scalp. Mah-to-toh-pa, though a young 
man, yet, as one of the most valiant of his tribe, pur- 
sued with a party of fifty. About noon of the second 
day, they came in sight of the enemy. Finding them 
more numerous than was imagined, the Mandans were 
about to return, when their young leader galloped out 
in front, and, after wheeling in a circuit, plunged his 
kance into the ground. The blade was driven up to 
the hilt. He then made another circuit, tore from his 
breast his red sash, and hung it on the lance as a flag. 
He now called out to the retreating Mandans, ‘‘ What ! 
have we come to this ? Have we dogged the enemy 
three days, and found them, now to go back like cow- 
ards ? Mah-to-toh-pa’s lance, which is red with' the 
blood of brave men, has led you to the sight of your 
enemy ; it now stands firm in the ground, where the 
earth will drink its owner’s blood ; you may all go 
back, and Mah-to-toh-pa will fight these warriors alone.” 
The Chiens had now turned back to give the Man- 
dans battle, and their 'leader, admiring the gallant con- 
duct' of Mah-to-toh-pa, galloped forward within hailing 
distance, and demanded who it was that had thus 
stuck down his lance, and alone defied his enemies ? 
I’he answer was, ‘‘ I am Mah-to-toh-pa, the second in 
command of the brave and valiant Mandans ! ” The 
Chien chief then said, ‘‘ I have heard often of Mah- 
to-toh-pa ; he is a great warrior. Dares he come for- 
ward and fight with me alone, while our warriors lock 
on ? ” “ Is he a chief who speaks to Mah-to-toh-pa ? ” 

was the reply. The Chien answered, “ My scalps 
vou see hanging to my horse’s bits ; and here is my 


284 THE INDIANS Wl ST OF THE .MISSISSIPPI. 

lance, with the ermine-skins and the war-eagle’s tail.’ 
“ It is enough,” said Mah-to-toh-pa. 

The Chien chief, mounted on a fierce white horse, 
now made a circuit at full gallop, and stuck his lance 
into he ground, leaving it standing by the side of Mah- 
to-toh-pa’s, and with a red flag also waving from it. 
They now drew near each other, and discharged their 
guns. They then passed each other, and, as they wheel- 
ed, Mah-to-toh-pa held up his powder-horn, and showed 
his antagonist that a bullet had shattered it in pieces. 
He then threw aside his firelock, drew out his bow and 
an arrow, and hung his shield on his left arm. The 
Chien did the same, and both dashed on, sending 
their whizzing shafts at each other in quick succession. 
Mah-to-toh-pa’s horse received an arrow through the 
heart, and fell to the ground. The rider sprang to his 
feet, and was instantly prepared for his antagonist. 
The Chien dismounted, drove back his horse, and 
presented his shield, inviting the Mandan to come on. 
After a few shots from the -bow, the Chien held up 
his empty quiver, and, dashing it with his bow and 
shield to the ground, drew his knife, and brandished it 
aloft in air. ‘‘ Yes ! ” cried out Mah-to-toh-pa, exult- 
ingly, throwing away also his quiver and shield ; but, 
on feeling for his blade, it was missing, — he had 
not brought it in his belt ! He had only his bow in 
hand, but with this he parried the blows of his assail- 
ant, and at last struck him to the ground. After a des- 
perate kruggle for the knife, in which the blade wa» 
several times drawn through Mah-to-toh-pa’s right hand, 
he gained possession of it, and plunged it into the 
heart of the Chien. Holding it up, the Mandan claim- 


THE INDIANS WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 285 


ed It as his own, and, taking the scalp of his valiant 
enemy, he departed in triumph. 

Such are some of the feats of the Four Bears 
But he and his tribe are now no more. In the sum 
mer of 1838, the small-pox, that curse of the re( 
race, was introduced among the Mandans by the fur 
traders. They were then surrounded by several war- 
parties of the Sioux, so that they could not scatter into 
the plains, but were confined to their village. The dis- 
ease became so malignant, that, after a person was at- 
tacked, death ensued in a few hours. Despair and mad- 
ness seemed to seize upon the people, and a large 
number destroyed themselves with knives and guns, or 
by dashing out their brains in leaping headlong from a 
ledge of rocks in front of their village. None thought 
of burying their dead, and whole families were left in 
ghastly heaps in the wigwams. 

Mr. Gatlin gives the following account of the melan- 
choly fate of Mah-to-toh-pa. “ He sat in his wigwam 
and saw every one of his family die about him, — his 
wives and his little children. He was attacked with 
the disease himself, but he recovered. He then walk- 
ed out, and, passing around the village, wept over the 
destruction of his tribe. His braves and warriors, 
whose sinewy arms once seemed to defy danger, were 
now but as heaps of clay. He came back to his lodge, 
and covered the bodies of his family in a pile with a 
number of robes ; he threw another around himself, 
and went out upon a hill at a little distance and sat 
downl Despite the entreaties of some traders who 
chanced to be there, he utterly refused to eat. He 
rema ,\ed on the earth till .the sixth day, when, faint 


286 THE INDIANS WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 

and exhausted, he staggered back to the village, and 
entered the horrid gloom of his own wigwam. Lay- 
ing his body down beside the group of his sleeping 
wife and children, he drew his robe over his face, and, 
lingering for three days, at last died.” 

Thus, in the course of two months, the whole cribe 
of Mandans perished, with the exception of some airty 
or forty, that were taken as slaves by the Ricarees, 
who moved from tl\eir own abodes and took pos- 
session of the Mandan village. This remnant of the 
valiant Mandans could not endure a state of bondage. 
Some months after they had been reduced to captivity, 
when the Ricarees were attacked by their enemies, 
the Sioux, they ran out together upon the prairie, call- 
ing to the Sioux to kill them. We are Ricaree 
dogs ! ” said they. “ Our friends are dead, — our war- 
riors are no more, — our villages are in the hands of 
strangers. We will not, we cannot live ! ” Then, 
brandishing their weapons in a manner to provoke the 
enemy, they were all cut in pieces. Not one escaped, 
and the Mandans are no more. Where is there a sad- 
der page of r.istory than this ? 


PRESENT CONDITION OF THE WESTERN 
INDIANS IN THE UNITED STATES. 


From our previous pages it will be seen that nu- 
merous causes have contributed to reduce the number 
of the aboriginal inhabitants of this country, so that 
but a remnant are now found in the States and Territo- 
ries of this republic. By the most recent report of the 
Commissioner of Indian Affairs to Congress, the fol- 
lowing is the estimated number of Indians in the United 
States. Of tribes indigenous to the country west of 
the Mississippi River, 168,909 ; of those removed, 
82,594 ; present western population of the tribes whol- 
ly or partially removed, 89,288 ; remaining east of the 
Mississippi, 22,846. 

From this it seems that there were but about 300,000 
of the various tribes specified yet remaining. But this 
includes only a smail portion of some of the most nu- 
merous native tribes, as, for instance, the Blackfeet 
and others. 

The evils attending the proximity of the whites to 
the Indians, while the latter remained withm the bounds 
of the States, have induced the general government 
to adopt the policy of their removal to an extensive 
country west of the Mississippi. The measure was 


288 


PRESENT CONDITION OF THE 


one which was, indeed, attended by great present in« 
convenience and injustice to those tribes which had 
become, in a degree, somewhat civilized, as they wei’e 
forcibly torn from their loved homes, and compelled to 
commence their journey to an untried country, where 
they must, as it were, begin life anew. Many perished 
during their march, from fatigue and disease. But 
resistance was hopeless, and the only chance that 
remained of their preservation, as distinct tribes, wav 
m their consent to go ; and so they obeyed the man 
date, and departed far from their ancient seats ot 
power, and the burial-places of their fathers. They 
left behind them, in many instances, good houses, 
well cultivated fields, and various improvements, which 
were the fruit of the labor of years ; and, to the 
great disgrace of the whites, they were subjected, in 
some cases, to outrage and rapine, dispossessed of their 
property, and even wounded, or put to death, while 
defending it. 

The Indian Territory, as it is called, is a tract of 
country bounded on the south by the Red River, east 
bv the States of Arkansas and Missouri, on the north 
and northeast by the Missouri and Punch Rivers, and 
west by the western limit of habitable country on this 
side of the Rocky Mountains. This has been purchas- 
ed, at various prices, of the indigenous tribes. The 
soil is said to be most excellent, abounding in fine 
water, timber, mines of coal, iron, and lead ; at the 
same time, it is the resort of numerous buffaloes, so that 
it seems well adapted for the purposes to which it is 
destined. 

The plan adopted by the government has been by 


WESTERN INDIANS IN THE UNITED STATES. 289 

purchase to extin^ish the Indian title to those lands 
which they leave, give them others within the new 
territory, transport them thither, and erect a portion of 
their dwellings, plough and fence a part of their fields, 
furnish them teachers in agriculture, and tools, horses, 
cattle, &c., build school-houses and provide instructers, 
and make arrangements for the support of those who 
have not the means at hand, at the outset, for this pur- 
pose. 

By treaty, the lands are perpetually guarantied to 
them, and stipulations have been entered into, by which 
they receive annual sums of money, and other sums 
are also to be expended in useful articles, and for the 
purposes o^ education. Agents are stationed among 
them, who, as well as the teachers provided for them, 
make annual reports to the Commissioner of Indian 
Affairs, who includes these documents in his own an- 
nual report to Congress. Governments, properly con- 
stituted by themselves, are also guarantied to them, 
and it is understood+to be the design to lead them to 
establish elective governments in each tribe, similar to 
our own State governments ; all to be united in a kind 
of federal republic. Some of the tribes have adopted 
the preliminary measure, and have already made im- 
portant advances towards civilization. 

The relative position of the various tribes is as foi 
lows. Immediately on the Bed Biver, beginning a< 
the south, are the Chickasaws ; then follow, in order, 
towards the north, the Choctaws, Seminoles, Creeks^ 
Cherokees, Shawanese, Senecas, Quapaws, Oneidas 
and Tuscaroras, Piankeshaws and Weahs, Peorias and 
Kaskaskias-Shawanese, Kansas, Delawares, Kickapoos • 

19 XI . — 25 


290 


PRESENT CONDITION OF THE 


tlien, north of these, the Omahaws arid Otoes, Missouris, 
Pancas, and Pawnees ; north of the Missouri, the Sacs 
and Foxes ; and west of the Peorias and Oneidas are 
the Osages. 

The Chickasaws have become, in a great degree, 
merged in the Choctaws. Their district, called the 
Chickasaw District, they purchased of the Choctaws 
for $ 530,000. By the treaty of 24th of May, 1834, it 
is provided, that $ 3,000 shall annually, for fifteen 
years, be expended, under the direction of the Secre- 
tary of War, for the 'education of the Chickasaws. 
They are a wealthy people, having invested nearly 
• $2,000,000, from which they will soon receive interest ; 
they have also a large fund for various objects, $ 10,000 
of which is, at the present time, applied to the pur- 
poses of civilization. 

The Choctaw country embraces 19,200,000 acres 
of good soil, and some 6,000,000 more of a poorer 
quality. This people are said now to be improving 
in civilization and comfort. They» have many large 
farms, and much live stock, three flouring mills, ten or 
twelve cotton-gins, eighty-eight looms, and two hundred 
and twenty spinning-wheels. 

The Choctaw nation has adopted a written constitu- 
tion, similar to that of the United States. Their lems- 
lative body is said to transact its business with great 
decorum and propriety. Their journals are kept in 
the English language, but, in the progress of business, 
are also read off in the Choctaw. They have four 
judicial districts, and the usual officers of justice. They 
are likewise, says the agent among them, fast ap- 
oroaching to the division of lands, and carefully seize 


WESTERN INDIANS IN THE UNITED STATES 291 

and destroy whisky illegally introduced among them. 
By the treaty of 1830, forty Choctaw youths are to bo 
kept at s,diool, under the direction of the president of 
the United States, for the term of twenty years. Also, 
the sum of $ 2,500 is to be applied for the support of 
three teachers of schools among them, for the same 
number of years. They have, likewise, a balance of 
$ 25,000 of unexpended annuities, which is to be ap- 
plied to the support of schools at twelve different 
places ; and, by the treaty of 1825, they have a further 
annuity of $ 6,000, for the support of schools. 

There are among them, as appears from the last 
report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, fifteen 
teachers and four hundred and five scholars. The 
missions there are under the direction of the American 
Board of Commissioners at Boston, and in their last 
report they state that the churches have all been en- 
larged, the aggregate increase having been somewhat 
more than one hundred. The whole number now 
connected with five churches is four hundred and sev- 
enty-one. The number of Choctaws able to read is 
steadily increasing, and the demand for books is be- 
coming greater every year. 

The Creeks are not so well organized, in respect to 
thei r government, as the Choctaws or Cherokees. There 
are two bands or parties, one under McIntosh, the 
other under Little Doctor. The first of these brought 
from their former home their old laws ; the latter have 
framed theirs since their removal. Both of them have 
their general councils, who combine the legislative, 
executive, and judicial departments in one. They 
own salt-springs, cultivate the ground, and follow other 


292 


PRESENT CONDITION OF THE 


pursuits of civilization. Many of them, also, are said 
to have large stocks of cattle. Before the crops of 
1837 had been gathered, it is stated that they had sold 
corn to the amount of upwards of $ 39,000, and that 
vast quantities then remained unsold ; and even the 
emigrants, who arrived in the country during the 
winter and spring previous to the harvest of that 
year, broke the turf, fenced their fields, raised theii 
crops for the first time, and sold their surplus of 
corn for $ 10,000. By the treaty of the 6th of March, 
1832, it is stipulated that an annuity of $ 3,000 shall 
be expended by the United States, under the direction 
of the president, for twenty years, in the education of 
their children. Besides this, $ 1,000, by the treaty of 
the 14th of February, 1833, is to be annually expended, 
during the pleasure of Congress, for the same object. 
A great number of the Creeks, and of the Seminoles 
who are now merged in that tribe, died on the w^ay, or 
shortly after their removal to the Indian Territory. 

The Cherokees have probably made the greatest ad- 
vances in civilization of any of the Indian nations on 
our western border. They own numerous salt-springs, 
which are worked by themselves, and in which they 
manufacture, it is said, one hundred bushels of salt, 
daily. They also own two lead-mines. The eastern 
portion of their country, which embraces the settle- 
ments, contains about 2,500,000 acres. They have a 
large stock of cattle, wagons, ploughs, looms, and spin- 
ning-wheels ; their lands are well inclosed with rail- 
fences ; and they have comfortable log-houses-, with 
stone chimneys and plank floors, which are well fur- 
nished. They have, likewise, seven 'native merchants, 
and one regular physician. 


WESTERN INDIANS IN THE UNITED STATES. 293 


Their settled country is divided into four districts, 
each of which, every two 3 ^ears, elects two mem- 
bers of the national coun-cil, which is called ‘‘The 
General Council of the Cherokee Nation.” They have 
three chiefs, whose approval is necessary for the pas- 
sage of a law; though an act, notwithstanding their 
veto, may be passed by a vote of two thirds of the 
council. They have, also, judicial, and other appro- 
priate officers. By the treaty of the 6th of May, 1823, 
it is stipulated that the United States shall pay, annu- 
ally, $ 2,000 for ten years, to be expended, under the 
direction of the president, in the education of their 
children, in their own country, in letters and the me- 
chanic arts ; also, $ 1,000 towards the purchase of a 
printing-press and types. By the treaty of December 
29, 1835, the sum of $ 150,000 is provided for the 
support of common schools, and such a literary insti- 
tution, of a higher order, as may be established in 
the Indian country. To this is also added an educa- 
tion fund of $ 50,000, making, in all, a permanent 
school-fund of $200,000, only the interest of which is 
used. 

From the last report of the Commissioner of Indian 
Affairs, it appears that the Cherokees are steadily ad- 
vancing in knowledge and civilization. Many of them 
are said to be men of decided talents and learning. 
The constitution and laws of the nation are printed and 
circulated among the people. Education is popular 
among them, and it is probable that they will adopt the 
suggestion of the agent in their territory, and divide 
their lands into farms, as individual property. Some 
unhappy feuds have existed, and, to a certain degree, 

25* 


294 


PRESENT CONDITION OF THE 


Still exist among them, which have resulted in the death 
of two or three of their prominent men, especially John 
Ridge and Elias Boudinot. Their principal chief is 
John Ross, a man of fine appearance, of considerable 
ability, and a gentleman. 

According to the last report of the American Board 
of Commissioners, the mission among the Cherokees 
consists of eighteen persons. There are five churches, 
comprising two hundred and thirty members, twenty- 
six of whom have been added within a few months. 
The temperance society organized there reckons among 
its members at least 1,560 Cherokees. 

One of the most remarkable events in the history 
of this people is the invention of a Cherokee alphabet, 
by George Guess, a native Cherokee. In the account 
of the mission, this alphabet is said to furnish, prob- 
ably, the most perfect orthography in the world. 
There has been a paper published in the Cherokee 
nation, partly in the English, and partly in the native 
language, and edited with considerable ability. Three 
presses are employed by the ^mission in printing books, 
principally for this tribe, though some are struck off in 
other languages. Since 1835,' besides the Gospels of 
John and Matthew, and the Epistles of John, there 
have been printed, at one press, not less than thirty- 
two different works, nearly all of which were above 
twenty pages each, making an aggregate of upwards 
of 2,000,000 pages. The whole number of pages 
printed among the Cherokees since 1828, as appears 
by the last report of the American Board, is 4,725,000. 

Five schools, under the care of the mission, con- 
tain about one hundred and sixty Cherokee children. 


WESTERN INDIANS IN THE UNITED STATES. 295 

Some interesting cases of improvement have occurred 
among this nation, on which, were there space for it, 
it would be pleasing to dwell. The Cherokees bid fair, 
if no untoward events occur, to realize the most san- 
guine expectations of their friends. Much sympathy 
has been excited for them, at various periods, during 
the last thirty years, and especially when they were 
driven from their loved homes, and the territory guar- 
antied to them by so many treaties ; and words of 
burning eloquence were called forth from some of the 
most eloquent speakers in the halls of Congress, in de- 
picting the injustice and cruelty with which they have 
been treated. It is to be hoped that the experiment, 
they are now making may be permitted to go on to its 
completion, without any further invasions of their rights 
and happiness. 

Besides these principal tribes, who are deriving ben- 
efit from missionaries and schools among them, there 
are missionary stations among the Pawnees, the Sioux, 
Shawanese, Ottawas, Potawatomies, and other tribes. 
By treaty, large portions of land, or' annual sums, have 
been set apart for the purposes of education, agri- 
culture, and such other aids to their civilization as ap- 
pear most desirable. The aversion to labor among 
some of these nations is said to be gradually wearing 
off, and idolatry and superstition are becoming eradi- 
cated. They still retain their ancient forms of govern- 
ment by chiefs. 

The Stockbridge Indians, within the limits of Wis- 
consin. have recently been admitted to the rights of 
citizenship, and during the last winter (1843-44) the 
Ottawas within the State of Michigan have petitioned 


296 PRESENT GONDII ION OF THE WESTERN INDIANS. 


the legislature of that State for the same privilege 
Many interesting particulars respecting the state of the 
schools and missions among the several Indian tribes 
and their present prospects, may be found in the re- 
ports of the various missionaries and agents of govern- 
ment, some of which are also appended to the report 
of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, annually sub- 
mitted to Congress. 

From all these sources we^ derive the hope, that a 
more successful experiment is to be made respecting 
the aborigines of our country than has ever before been 
attempted, and that the time may soon arrive when they 
shall be allowed to form a State of this vast republic. 
The wrongs they have suffered demand the best repara- 
tion which a Christian nation can make ; and the prayer 
of many a pious and sympathizing heart is daily breath- 
ed forth, that they may henceforth be permitted, without 
molestation, to learn and practise the virtues of peace, 
cheered and encouraged in every honest endeavour to 
do well. 

Such, then, as we have attempted to sketch it, is 
the history of the aborigines of America. It is sad to 
reflect that so many pages of it have been written, as 
it were, in blood, and that such' multitudes have per- 
ished in the vain attempt to resist outrage and op- 
pression. 


THE PROSPECTS OF THE WESTERN 

TRIBES. 


Columbus, speaking of the American Indians, said : 
— ‘‘I swear to your Majesties that there is not a bet- 
ter people in the world ; they love their neighbours 
as themselves ; their language is the sweetest, softest, 
and most cheerful, for they always speak smiling ; and, 
although they go naked, let your Majesties believe me, 
their customs are very becoming ; and their king, who 
is served with great majesty, has such engaging man- 
ners, that it gives great pleasure to see him ; and also 
to consider the great retentive faculty of that people, 
and their desire of knowledge, which incites them lo 
ask the causes and effects of things.” 

After the dark and bloody account we have given 
of the history of the Indians, — especially those within 
the compass of our own country, — we may smile at 
the flattering picture presented by the discoverer of 
the New World. But we must consider that the na- 
tives of the West Indies, of whom Columbus speaks, 
were the mildest portion of the great Indian family ; 
and, besides, at the time to which he refers, they had 
not become exasperated by the repeated and cruel 
wrongs of the Europeans. 


298 THE PROSPECTS OF THE WESTERN 1 RISES. 

In estimating the native capacities of the aborigines, 
and especially their fitness for civilization, we must 
take into consideration the long train of influences 
which has been moulding them, for centuries, into their 
present condition. The history of Peru, as well as 
that of Mexico, abundantly proves that a portion of 
them had an aptitude for improvement, evinced by the 
progress they made in various arts ; and it may be 
added, that, under the instructions of Eliot and May- 
hew, even the tribes of New England, regarded as 
among the most savage and irredeemable, made rapid 
strides in Christianity and the peaceful arts of civilized 
life. 

If, therefore, in our picture of these Northern nations, 
we have been called upon to delineate them chiefly as 
warriors, revelling in blood, and delighting in the ter- 
rific scenes of slaughter, pillage, and conflagration, it 
must not be inferred that such is their intrinsic and 
necessary character. An experiment is, indeed, now 
making, on a large scale, and under favorable auspices, 
having for its object to bring them into the family of 
civilized man ; and in our view of the present condition 
of the Indians in the United States, we have exhibited 
the hopeful advances already made by some of the 
tribes, in refinement and the Christian virtues. 

The question, then, as to the possibility of civilizing 
the Indians within our borders, seems, at first view, to 
be favorably determined. The subject is one of 
deep interest, and claims the attention of enlightened 
minds throughout our republic. Our ancestors have 
inflicted fearful wrongs upon this race ; for centuries, 
their blood has cried to heaven for vengeace. Nor is 


THE PROSPECTS OF THE WESTERN TRIBES. 299 

our own generation free from similar guilt, or similar 
accountability. But besides the deep debt thus in- 
curred, and which, in this age of light, we should be 
earnest to discharge in behalf of the remnants of these 
people, their numbers are still considerable, and, from 
their own importance in this point of view, they may 
well claim the attention of the philanthropist. 

And there is still another aspect in which this sub- 
ject becomes one of deep interest. The tribes within 
the Indian Territory can now muster fifty thousand war- 
riors. They have a fine country, and, in the aggregate, 
possess a considerable amount of property. Stretching 
along our defenceless western frontier, they may render 
themselves indeed formidable, whenever they choose 
to combine against us. They have horses in abun- 
dance, and can transfer themselves, with the fleetness 
of the Arab, from one point to another. They have 
fire-arms, in addition to the spear, the bow and arrow, 
and the tomahawk. They have, contiguous to them, the 
Camanches on the south, and numerous other tribes on 
the north and west. These can easily be made their 
allies, in case of need. 

The position of these tribes is, therefore, one of 
great strength. Let us now consider that their minds 
must be full of bitter remembrances towards our 
people. The story of Philip, Sassacus, and Logan 
may not have descended in their traditions to the pres- 
ent day, but the general story of their race is familiar 
to them all. When Keokuck replied to Governor 
Everett in the State-house in Boston, in 1837, he said 
he had been told by the old men of his tribe, that the 
ancestors of the Indians once owned and occupied the 


300 THE PROSPECTS OF THE WESTERN TRIBES. 

lands to the shores of the Atlantic. Tt must he a fa 
miliar fact to the Indians, from the Mississippi to the 
borders of the Pacific, that they were lords of this con- 
tinent, and that the white man has dispossessed them 
of their inheritance. They must not only know this 
genera, truth, but they must also know and deeply feel 
the violence and injustice of that process by which their 
nations have been wasted, and the inheritance, which 
God, and nature, and their ancestors had bequeathed 
to them, was wrenched from their hands. 

The particular experience of many of them must 
also contribute to increase their store of bitter recol- 
lections. The fate of Tecumseh is familiar to many 
of them, for those still live who fought by his side. 
The story of the Everglades, and the doom of Osceola, 
must be often repeated by those who participated in 
the scenes of the late Florida war. The bloodhounds, 
imported from Cuba to hunt them down in the thick- 
ets, will be introduced to give effective coloring to the 
picture of suffering, to embitter the feeling of indigna- 
tion, and, if need be, to rouse the soul to acts of retri- 
bution. 

While, therefore, the tribes are now placed by treaty 
within the Indian territory, and are adopting, by de 
grees, the arts of civilization, under the auspices of the 
United States, it must be remembered that they are 
there not willingly, and that they have carried with 
them the long accumulated remembrances of their pain 
ful history. 

“ I yield,” said Weatherford to General Jackson, 
“ by necessity, not by choice. My warriors are dead ; 
my people slain ; i‘: is vain to resist ; but if I had an 


THE PROSPECTS OF THE WESTERN TRIBES. 301 

army I would still be in the field against you.” It u 
with such a feeling that many of the tribes have re- 
tired to their present abodes ; and can we doubt that 
there is many a daring and independent soul among 
them, that would rejoice in the opportunity to balance 
the heavy reckoning which stands summed up in theii 
minds against us ? 

It has often happened that the wrath of man has 
been made to work out the will of Providence. Who 
can tell that the time is not yet to come, in which 
these Indian tribes shall wreak signal vengeance upon 
us, and furnish another lesson to the world, in assu- 
rance of the fact, that, in the history of nations, great 
crimes are usually followed, sooner or later, by ade- 
quate retribution ? It seems evident that this concentra- 
tion of the Indian tribes in the West must issue in great 
events, — either in their civilization, and their final ac- 
cession, as citizens, to our republic, or in future strug- 
gles, in which their power will be made the instrument 
of chastising our country for its former course of in- 
justice. 

In this case, there is but one line of conduct for us 
to pursue, and that is alike dictated by policy and right 
feeling. Let us do all in our power to bestow upon 
these three hundred thousand Indians the benefits of 
our own religion and civilization, and prepare them, as 
speedily as may be, to come within the fold of our own 
government, as members of the Union. Let us do 
this in atonement for former aggression, as a measure 
of future safety, and as the obvious dictate of common 
philanthropy. 

Let us not permit the common suggestion, that the 

* XI. — 26 


802 THE PROSPECTS OF THE WESTERN TRIBES. 

Indian is incapable of receiving the benefits of civili- 
zation, to hinder us from adopting this course. Up- 
on what basis does this idea of Indian character 
rest ? Upon no better foundation, we apprehend, 
than prejudice, — and a prejudice, too, inculcated, if not 
engendered, by the desire of finding apologies for the 
harsh and desolating policy which has been pursued to- 
ward the race. The Indians are incorrigible, — there- 
fore let them be swept away. This is the ready logic 
of those who wish to possess their lands, or who desire 
to excuse acts of plunder and aggression. 

Let us not adopt conclusions too hastily in this im- 
portant matter. If, hitherto, many of the efforts to civil- 
ize the Indians have failed, we must not thence infer 
that they have a nature which excludes them for evei 
from the fold of civilization. May there not be some 
defect in the means, some error in the mode, adopt- 
ed to instruct them ? and cannot we better account for 
failure in this way, than by resorting to a supposition 
which seems to impugn the wisdom and benevolence 
of the Creator ? 

In considering the possibility of civilizing the In- 
dians, the author of the splendid Work on “ The Histo- 
ry of the North American Tribes of Indians,” &c., 
makes the following just and appropriate remarks : 
“ We consider the question to be, not whether the In- 
dian intellect is endowed with the capacity to receive 
civilization, but whether his savage nature can be so 
far conciliated, as to make him a fair subject of the 
benevolent effort. The question is, not as to the possi- 
bility of eradicating his ferocity, or giving steadiness 
m his erratic habits, but as to the practicability of 


THE PROSPECTS OF THE WESTERN TRIBES. 303 


bringing to bear upon him the influences by which his 
evil propensities and his waywardness must be sub- 
dued. The wild ass may be tamed into the most do- 
cile of the servants of man ; the difliculty is in catching 
him, ill placing him under the influence of the process 
of trairking. Whenever the bridle is placed upon his 
head, the work is done ; all the rest follows with the 
certainty of cause and effect ; in the contest between 
the man and the brute, between intellect and instinct, 
the latter must submit. So it is between the civilized 
and savage man. The difficulties to be overcome 
are the distance by which the races are separated, and 
the repulsion which impedes their approach. There 
is no sympathy between the refinement of the civilized 
man and the habits of the savage ; nor any neutral 
ground, upon which they can meet and compromise 
away their points of difference. They are so widely 
separated in the scale of being, as to have no common 
tastes, habits, or opinions ; they meet in jealousy and 
distrust ; disgust and contempt attend all their inter- 
course ; and the result of their contact is oppression 
a.'d war. And why ? The repulsive principle is never 
overcome ; the attraction of sympathy is never estab- 
lished. The parties do not gaze upon each other pa- 
tiently and long enough to be reconciled to their mu- 
tual peculiarities, and sit together in peace until they be- 
come acquainted. The habit of enduring each other’s 
manners is not established, nor the good-fellowship 
which results from pacific intercourse, even between 
those who are widely separated by character and 
station.” 

Here the great obstacle to the instruction of the 


304 THE PROSPECTS OF THE WESTERN TRIBES. 

Indian tribes is clearly stated ; let this be removed, and 
we have little doubt that we shall soon have to regard 
the current opinion of their obduracy as founded in 
error. The circumstances in which these people are 
now placed, — large bodies of them having made con- 
siderable advances in many of the arts of civilized 
life, having adopted regular governments, holding pa- 
cific intercourse with the United States, and enjoying 
the ministration of zealous and faithful missionaries 
among them, — are favorable to the making of one more 
experiment for their redemption, and this, too, with the 
important advantage of a good understanding between 
them and their teachers. 

As to the capacity of the aborigines for civilization, 
we have little doubt. W e have already hinted at the 
successes of Eliot, Mayhew, and the Moravians, in 
Christianizing some of the most savage tribes ; and it 
would be easy to add other facts of the same nature, 
and tending to the same point. We could also set 
before the reader numerous incidents, which show that 
the Indian character is by no means destitute of the 
finest elements which belong to human nature. 

The affecting story of Totapia, a Choctaw mother, 
known to the whites by the name of Jenny, related by 
the Rev. Dr. Morse in his Report, exhibits a touching 
example of the strength and sensibility of maternal af- 
fection in the Indian woman, which, in a Roman or 
Grecian matron, would have been rendered immortal 
by the poet and historian. She was the widow of a 
Choctaw, who, having slain one of his own tribe, was 
pursued by the relatives of the deceased, and put to 
death, according to the Indian law. After the death 


THE PROSPECTS OF THE WESTERN TRIBES. 305 

of her husband, she settled near St. Francisville, in 
Louisiana, where she lived reputably, with four or five 
children, of whom Hoctanlubbie, or Soue, her son, was 
the eldest. 

At the age of twenty-five, her son murdered an 
old Indian, for which act, according to the unalterable 
law of the nation, his life was demanded, and he was 
sentenced to die. The day of his execution was fixed 
and had arrived, and the relatives and friends of the 
murdered, with others, a mingled throng, were assem- 
bled after their usual manner, and all things ^fere 
ready for inflicting the sentence of the law. At 
this moment of strong and mingled feeling, Jenny, 
the mother, pressed through the crowd to the spot 
where her son stood by the instruments prepared to 
take from him his life. She then addressed the chiefs 
and the company, demanding the life of her son, and 
offering in its stead her own. Her plea was this : “ He 
is young ; he has a wife, children, brothers, and sisters, 
all looking to him for counsel and support. I am old ; 
I have only a few days to live, at most ; I can do but 
little more for my family. Nor is it strictly just, it is 
rather a shame, to take a new chief for an old one,^'* 

The magnanimous offer of the devoted mother 
was accepted, and a few hours were allowed her to 
prepare for death. She repaired immediately to the 
house of a lady, Mrs. T., who had been her kind and 
liberal friend, and, without divulging what had oc- 
curred, said she came to beg a winding-sheet and coffin 
for her son. Not suspecting the arrangement of Tota- 
pia to preserve her son, the lady acceded to her request. 
When asked in relation to tl e length of the coffin and 

20 26 * 


306 THE PROSPECTS OF THE WESTERN TRIBES. 

grave-clothes, the Choctaw mother replied, “ Make 
them to suit my size, and they will answer for my son.” 

Soon after Jenny had left Mrs. T. for the camp, 
where all things were ready for her execution, a mes- 
senger arrived in haste, and informed Mrs. T. of what 
was passing in the camp, and that Jenny was immedi- 
ately to die. She hastened to the scene, with the in- 
tention of rescuing her; but Jenny, the moment she 
saw her carriage coming at a distance, imagining, 
doubtless, what her object was, standing in her grave, 
ca«ght the muzzle of the gun, the prepared instrument 
of her death, and, pointing it to her heart, entreated 
the executioner to do his duty. He obeyed, and she 
fell dead ! 

We are not told how it happened that the son 
suffered his mother to die for him, or whether he could 
have prevented it. It seems, however, that he was 
despised for permitting it, and that his own conscience 
goaded him. The friends of the old man whom he 
had murdered taunted him, ‘‘ You coward, you let your 
mother die for you ; you are afraid to die.” Unable to 
endure all this, he stabbed a son of his former victim, 
but not until five years had elapsed since the death of 
his mother. 

He returned home with indications of triumph, 
brandishing his bloody knife, and, without waiting for 
inquiry, confessed what he had done. He told nis 
Indian friends that he woi’Id no\ live to be called a 
coward. “ I have been told,” he said, ‘ that I fear to 
die. Now you shaiir see that I can die like a man.” 
A wealthy planter, whose house he passed, he invited 
to see how he could die. This was on Sunday. Mon- 


THE PROSPECTS OF THE WESTERN TRIBES. 807 


day, at twelve o’clock, was the day he appointed for 
his self-immolation. Here a scene was presented 
which baffles all description. Soue walked forward and 
backward again, still keeping in his hand the bloody 
knife. With all his efforts to conceal it, he discov- 
ered marks of an agitated mind. The sad group 
present consisted of about ten men and as. many fe- 
males ; the latter with sorrowful countenances were 
employed in making an overshirt for Soue’s burial. 
The men, all except two of his brothers, were smok- 
ing their pipes with apparent unconcern. Several 
limes, Soue examined his gun, and remained silent. 
His grave had been dug the day before, and he had 
laid himself down in it, to see if it suited as to length 
and breadth. 

No one had demanded his death ; for all who 
were interested, and felt their honor concerned in it, 
resided at a distance of thirty or forty miles. The 
death-song was repeated, as was also the shaking of 
hands. Both were again repeated the third and last 
time. Immediately after, Soue stepped up to his wife, 
a young woman of eighteen, with an infant in her 
arms, and another little child, two or three years old, 
standing by her side, and presented to her the bloody 
knife, which, till now, he had kept in his hand. She 
averted her face to conceal a falling tear, but, recov- 
ering herself, with a forced smile, took it. His sister 
was sitting by the side of his wife, wholly absorbed in 
grief, apparently insensible to what was passing, her 
eyes vacant, and fixed on some distant object. His 
pipe he gave to a young brother, who struggled hard to 
conceal his emotions. He then drank a little whisky 


308 THE PROSPECTS OF THE WESTERN TRIBES. . 

and water, dashed the bottle on the ground, sung a few 
words in the Choctaw language, and, with a jumping, 
dancing step, hurried to his grave. His gun was so 
fixed by the side of a young sapling as to enable him 
to take his own life. No one, he had declared, should 
take it from him. 

These, preparations and ceremonies being now 
complete, he gave the necessary touch to the ap- 
paratus, the gun was discharged, and its contents 
passed through his heart. He instantly fell dead to 
the earth. The females sprang to the lifeless body. 
Some held his head, others his hands and feet, and 
others knelt at his side. He had charged them to show 
no signs of grief, while he lived, lest it should shake 
his resolution ; as far as possible, they obeyed. Their 
grief was restrained until he was dead ; it then burst 
forth in a torrent, and their shrieks and lamentations 
were loud and undissembled. 

In the midst of the unnumbered wrongs which the 
Southern Indians have received at our hands, it gives 
us pleasure to record an act of justice toward an inter- 
esting Choctaw girl ; while, at the same time, the inci- 
dent which led to it is pertinent to our present purpose, 
which is, to show the amiable qualities which belong to 
the savages even in the untutored state. 

“ The Committee on Indian Affeirs, in the late House 
of Kepresentatives, reported a bill allowing a pension 
’ for life to Milly, an Indian woman of the Creek tribe, 
daughter of the celebrated prophet and chief, Francis, 
who was executed by order of General Jackson, in the 
Seminole war of 1817- 18. The subject was brought 
to the notice of the Committee by the Secretary of 


THE PROSPECTS OF THE WESTERN TRIBES. 309 


War, at .he instance of Lieutenant-colonel Hitchcock, 
who communicated the particulars of the incident upon 
which the recommendation to the favor of the govern- 
ment was founded. 

‘‘ Milly, at the age of sixteen, when her nation was 
at war with the United States, and her father was one 
of the most decided and indefatigable enemies of the 
white people, saved the life of an American citizen, 
who had been taken prisoner by her tribe. The cap- 
tive was bound to a tree, and the savage warriors, with 
their rifles, were dancing around him, preparatory to 
putting him to death. The young Indian girl, filled 
with pity for the devoted prisoner, besought her father 
to spare him ; but the chief declined to interfere, say- 
ing, that the life of the prisoner was in the hands of 
his captors, whose right it was to put him to death. 
She then turned to the warriors, and implored them to 
forbear their deadly purpose ; but she was repulsed, 
and one of them, much enraged, told her that he had 
lost two sisters in the war, and that the prisoner must 
die. Her intercession, however, continued ; she per- 
severed in entreaties, and used all the arts of persua- 
sion which lier woman’s nature suggested ; and she 
finally succeeded in saving his life, on condition that 
the young white man should adopt the Indian dress, 
and become one of the tribe. 

‘‘ It appears from the information communicated by 
Colonel Hitchcock, that, some time after this event, the 
white man sought his benefactress in marriage, but she 
declined, and subsequently married one of her own 
people. Her husband is noAV dead. Her father was 
put to death in the war of 1817-18, and her mother 


310 THE PROSPECTS OF THE WESTERN TRIBES. 

and sister have since died. She is now friendless and 
poor, residing among her people in their new country, 
near the Verdigris Kiver. She has three children, a 
boy and two girls, all too young to provide for them- 
selves, and, consequently, dependent upon their mother 
for support. 

The Committee thought that the occasion presented 
by this case was a suitable one, not only to reward a 
meritorious act, but also to show to the Indian tribes 
how mercy and humanity are appreciated by the gov- 
ernment. The grant of a pension, with a clear expo- 
sition of the grounds of its allowance, would have a 
^alutary influence, it was believed, upon savage cus- 
toms in future. A bill was accordingly reported, to 
allow to Milly a pension of ninety-six dollars per an- 
num^ or eight dollars a month, for life.” 

In connection with this detail, we may remind the 
reader of Pocahontas, who, with proper education, had 
doubtless proved an ornament to the most exalted sta- 
tion ; and we may also relate, at length, the story of 
Attakullakulla and Captain Stewart, to which we have 
adverted in the preceding pages. 

Fort Loudon, on the Fiver Tennessee, was situated 
five hundred miles from Charleston, and there were 
few towns between. It was built in 1756, for the pur- 
pose of preventing the encroachments of the French, 
who used to steal down from Canada, and annoy the 
white English inhabitants, who were forming settle- 
ments in that part of the country. At the same time, 
it was a safeguard against the Indians, numerous tribes 
of whom lived round about. These Indians, at all 
times savage and cruel, were particularly hostile to the 


THE PROSPECTS OF THE WESTERN TRIBES. 311 


whites, and the more so as they perceived them form- 
ing establishments in their neighbourhood. 

In the abovernentioned fort, at the time our account 
commences, there were but few soldiers. This fact 
the Indians by some means discovered, and they deter- 
tnined to make an attack upon it, and, if possible, to 
tnassacre the garrison. 

The plan was conducted, as usual, with much se- 
vrecy and cunning, and, before the soldiers were aware, 
the fort was surrounded by a large number of savages, 
thirsting for their blood. The fort was strong, how- 
ever, the gates were shut, and the Indians found it 
impossible to enter. ' But they could watch it. They 
might, perhaps, in time, force the garrison to surren- 
der, because their provisions could not last always. A 
guard was, therefore, constantly kept round about, and 
so vigilant were they, that not a single white man 
durst venture abroad, nor could any come to their as- 
sistance. 

For a time, the provisions in the fort held out ; 
but, at length, the soldiers were obliged to resort to the 
flesh of their horses and dogs, which, by reason of 
scanty food, had dwindled away nearly to skeletons. 
For two long months, they bore up under the pres- 
sure of confinement and stinted fare. The enemy 
that surrounded them, they well knew, were at all 
times ferocious ; but they would be doubly so now, 
having become exasperated by watching for so long 
a period. 

The soldiers had stout hearts and good courage; 
but, at length they told the officers that they could 
hold out no longer. Upon this, the latter came to- 


312 THE PROSPECTS OF THE WESTERN TRIBES. 

gether, and, afte; due consultation, it was agreed to 
surrender, and to obtain the best terms of capitulation 
from the Indians they were able. 

There was one man among them whom the In- 
dians esteemed, — Captain Stewart. He was accord- 
ingly selected to inform the enemy that they had 
held out sufficiently long, and were willing to sur- 
render, provided they could make suitable terms. The 
Indians replied, that they might march out with their 
guns and a little powder and shot, but that the fort 
must be surrendered that very day ; adding, that they 
would accompany them to Fort George, where their 
white brethren lived. 

As these were better terms than they expected, 
the English officers did not hesitate to accept them. 
They marched out accordingly, and speedily set out 
upon their journey for Fort George. It was noon when 
they left the fort, and night before they halted. 

Wearied with their toilsome march, they soon laid 
themselves down to rest. Just as they were doing this, 
they perceived that the whole body of Indians were 
leaving them. The object of this movement they were 
unable to explain ; but, well knowing the cunning and 
artifice of the savage warriors, they could sleep no 
more. A few, perhaps more weary than the others, 
dozed occasionally for a few minutes ; but the pain- 
ful state of anxiety, in which they were, made their 
sleep short and unrefreshing. Several hours passed in 
this state of suspense ; but, as no Indians came near 
them, they began to indulge the hope that the enemy 
had left them, to return no more. They, therefore, 
generally laid themselves down, and, one after another, 
sunk into a sound sleep 


THE PPOSPECTS OF THE WESTE2N TRIBES. 313 


About the dawn of day, one of the men, who had 
been placed as a guard, came running in great haste 
to inform them that a large body of Indians were 
secretly approaching. The alarm was instantly given, 
and the men were ordered to stand to their arms. The 
summons, however, was so sudden, and the terror so 
universal, that not a single soldier had his gun loaded 
when the tremendous war-whoop broke upon them. 
The onset of the savages upon this comparatively fee- 
ble and unprepared band was so furious that resist- 
ance was vain. Some were killed, and the rest were 
taken prisoners. Captain Stewart had his hands tied 
behind him, and, at the head of the others, was led 
back to the fort. 

On their arrival, an Indian chief, taking Captain 
Stewart by the hand, conducted him to his own hut, 
unbound his arms, and fed him from his own bowl. 
This was Attakullakulla. A few days after, the In- 
dians held a great council as to the disposal of the 
prisoners. The chiefs were all present, and, though 
some differed for a time from others, they finally agreed 
to send for Captain Stewart, and inform him that they 
were about to attack Fort George. “ You and your 
men,” said they to him, will accompany us. You 
will fight with us. This is the result of our talk. 
You must do more,” added they. “ Write to the cap- 
tain of Fort George ; tell him of our coming ; tell him, 
that, if he surrenders the fort peaceably, it is well ; if 
not, we will strip his friend Captain Stewart, and burn 
him before his eyes ! ” 

Captain Stewart, finding no alternative, sat down, 
and, in the presence of the savages, wrote the letter 

XI. — 27 


314 THE PROSPECTS OF THE WESTERN TRIBES. 

required ; but he thought within himself, that, before 
he would fight against his brethren, he would undergo 
the pains even of savage torture. On returning home, 
he said to Atlakullakulla, You are my friend ; you 
have shown your friendship in the hour of danger and 
of trial. Now can you show it again ? I cannot 
fight my brethren. I must escape, or I must die.” 

Attakullakulla replied, “ I have been your friend 
once ; I will be so again. You must not fight your 
brethren. The red men must not kill you. Come 
with me, and I will take you far from the reach of the 
bloody tomahawk.” 

Before the next morning, Attakullakulla and Captain 
Stewart were far on their journey in the depths of the 
wilderness. By day, they travelled with great expe- 
dition, and at night slept upon the open ground. The 
sun and moon served as guides to the sagacious Indian 
chief ; and as they kept on, over hills and mountains, 
valleys and rivers. Captain Stewart wondered where 
their journey would end. On the fourteenth day, they 
saw fires at a distance, and they knew men were near. 
They soon met a party of soldiers, who informed them 
that they were in Virginia, and that this was the camp of 
Colonel Bird. They told them to go on further, where 
they would see the colonel himself. When they came 
up with this officer. Captain Stewart introduced him- 
self and his Indian friend to him. He was delighted 
to hear of the captain’s escape, and was much pleased 
with the friendship which the Indian had shown to the 
white man. “ This,” said he, “ is true friendship, 
which shows itself in action, not in words.” 

When Attakullakulla said he must depart that night. 


/ 

THE PROSPECTS OF THF WESTERN TRIBES. 315 

the two officers begged him .0 remain with them for 
a few days. But the old man said, “ .No.” Find- 
ing that he could not be persuaded, they loaded him 
with presents of all kinds, and, bidding him farewell, 
saw him depart for his home. On his return to his 
tribe, he met some soldiers, who told him they had 
been sent from Fort George, the place which the In- 
dians were going to attack. They said that the captain 
of Fort George had received their letter, and had heard 
that they were coming to fight him. ‘But he desired 
Attakullakulla to inform his brethren that they must 
not come to Fort George, for there was much 
powder and ball buried in holes around the fort, to 
blow up any enemies who rnight venture too near ; 
and that, if they dared to approach,' they would cer- 
tainly be blown in pieces. 

Attakullakulla promised the soldiers that he would 
tell the Indians of this, and again proceeded on his way. 
On reaching Fort Loudon, he called the chiefs to- 
gether, and told them of the message the white man 
had sent to them. They were much frightened when 
they heard of the powder and shot, and blessed the Good 
Spirit that he had not permitted them to attack the 
fort, as they must all have been killed. 

But to return to Captain Stewart.’' Now that he had 
himself escaped, he began to think of the poor soldiers 
whom he had left in captivity. For' a time, he could 
hear nothing of their fate, and was in doubt whether 
his escape might not have led to the massacre of them 
all. But, at length, he had the pleasure to know, by 
means of one who had escaped like himself, that they 
were alive, though still in captivity. Upon this intelli- 


316 THE PEOSPECTS OF THE WESTERN TRIBES. 

gence, he collected such articles as he thought would 
be acceptable to the Indians, beads, buttons, red beltSj 
&c., and begged him to divide them among the chiefs, 
and to ask that their white prisoners might be sent 
to him in return. The presents proved acceptable to 
the Indians, and, in the fulness of their joy, they said 
they must send something in return to their friend, Cap- 
tain Stewart ; but for an appropriate present they were 
quite at a loss. Attakullakulla told them he could help 
them out of their difficulty, and now informed them of 
the request of Captain Stewart. To this they unani- 
mously assented, and forthwith communicated to their 
prisoners that they were at liberty. 

The joy of the prisoners need not be told. Under 
the guidance of the man whom Captain Stewart had 
sent with the presents, they were conducted in safety 
to Fort George, where they had the pleasure to meet, 
once more, their friend and benefactor. Captain Stew- 
art himself, and to thank him, in person, for his kind 
remembrance of them in the land of their captivity. 

These, and numerous other instances that might be 
cited, show that boldness and cunning are not the 
' only qualities of the Indian, but that, in possessing the 
nobler atti’ibutes of kindness, generosity, and friend- 
ship, he may often challenge our respect and admira- 
tion. Of the capacity of the Western tribes for civil- 
izsttion, *.t indeed seems that there can be no reasonable 
doubt. 

What, then, is to be done, to aid them in taking ad- 
vantage of their present condition for improvement? 
Let our government pursue toward them a conciliating 
policy ; and, while maintaining their present relations, 


THE PROSIECTS OF THE WESTERN TRIBES. 317 


do all in their power to secure the confidence and good 
will of these tribes. 

One of the greatest difficulties lies in conquering the 
love of war and the chase, a passion, which, once in- 
dulged, is apt to engross the whole soul. The tame 
pursuits of agriculture seem tasteless, if not revolting, 
to those who have been accustomed to mingle in the 
stormy excitements of savage life. But this difficulty 
may still be overcome. Let the master spirits of the 
tribe be taught that the war-path is no longer the road 
to distinction, and they will soon seek it in some 
other way. To use the words of the author before 
quoted on this subject, — ‘‘The season for political 
competition not having yet arrived, the only means 
of distinction would be wealth ; and the glory of accu- 
mulating the bloody trophies of the battle-field would be 
exchanged for the boast of broad fields and numerous 
herds. The few, possessed of prudence and foresight, 
or desiring eminence, would see at once the advan- 
tages of agriculture, and would become farmers. The 
example would be salutary, and one after another 
would desire to possess the comforts and independence 
which crown the labors of the husbandman. The best 
and most influential men would be the first to lead the 
way in this reformation ; and every man who became 
a farmer would be a powerful advocate of the cause 
because it would be his interest to diminish the number 
of the idle and non-producing, who must depend on 
the public for subsistence, or disturb the peace by 
crime and violence. » 

“ To hasten this result, to hold out a reward for 
industry, and to provide for a more advanced civiliza 

27 * 


318 THE PROSPECTS OF THE WESTERN TRIBES. 

% 

lion than that which W3 have been contemplating,' it 
should be provided, that, whenever an Indian should 
have actually become a farmer, and should, for a 
specified number of years, have tilled the soil, a tract 
of land should be granted to him, the title to which 
should be a life-estate to himself, and a fee simple to 
his descendants. By this provision, portions of land 
would be converted into private property, and the re- 
mainder might be vested in the nation, whenever they 
should have a government capable of properly dispos- 
ing of it. < 

“In this way, the Indian might be allured by. his 
interest, and led to self-elevation. We would deprive 
him of his natural liberty only so long as should be 
necessary to bring about that lucid interval in which 
he would become sensible of his true condition, and 
apprised of the means held out for his redemption ; 
and we would leave it to himself to seek out his own 
further advancement in his own way. In this, we 
should pursue the plan of Nature. The primitive na- 
tions were not precociously instructed by their Creator 
in the whole circle of human knowledge ; but it was left 
for them and their descendants to discover gradually 
the wealth and resources of the world beneficently 
given them, and to increase in learning by an easy and 
healthful gradation. 

“ The attempt to civilize the roving bands by rea- 
son, by the mere force of truth, or by any abstract 
sense of duty, has always been, and will continue to 
be, abortive. The physical impediments must first be 
removed. Among white men, Christianity, literature 
and the arts have nwer flourished during a period of 


THE PROSPECTS Olr THE WESTERN TRIBES. 319 


anarchy or civil war. In those countries where the 
peasantry are oppressed, and have no rights, property, 
or education, they are degraded and ferocious ; and if 
the passions of their savage nature are not developed 
in deeds of courage, it is because they are bridled by 
the strong arm of power. If we trace the nations of 
Europe from their former state of barbarism to their 
present moral elevation, we shall find the same causes 
to have always operated. The first step has always 
been the acquisition of permanent habitations, and the 
consequent love of country and of home. Domestic 
comforts warmed into life the social virtues. The 
possession of property followed, and then personal and 
civil rights, one after another, were conceived. Then 
emancipation from their chiefs ensued, and political 
rights began to be demanded. The state of war be- 
came inconvenient. It was now the interest of the 
honest and industrious to protect themselves against 
plunder and violence ; and the deeds of murder and 
robbery ceased to be heroic. Commerce between na- 
tions softened prejudice, produced the interchange of 
commodities, encouraged the arts, and enlarged the 
stock of knowledge. And lastly, hand in hand, came 
education and religion. 

“ The ministers of the gospel and the schoolmaster 
have been powerful agents in these changes, but they 
have never marched in the van. They form an effi- 
cient corps in the main body ; but their business is, to 
secure and improve the acquisitions which bone and 
muscle, and skill and courage have obtained. As the 
rifle and the axe must first subdue the forest, before the 
husbandman can cultivate the soil, so must the strong 


320 THE PROSPECTS OF THE WESTERN TRIBES. 

arm of the government produce peace, enforce obe 
dience, and organize a system of civil rights and re- 
straints, before the mild precepts of the gospel, and 
the fructifying streams of knowledge, can be made to 
pervade the wilderness, and teach the desert to blossom 
as the rose.” 

With these suggestions we dismiss this subject, in 
the hope that it will attract the serious attention, not 
only of the government, but of the people of the United 
States ; and that a course will be pursued, in respect to 
these remnants of the American tribes, alike dictated 
by prudence, justice, and general benevolence. 


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